


Final Space Drabbles

by RandomFandomJasper



Category: Final Space
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:40:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 43
Words: 55,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21611644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandomFandomJasper/pseuds/RandomFandomJasper
Summary: I write on Tumblr, and this is a compilation of all the Final Space drabbles I have written. I will add more as I write them, but updates might be slow and irregular for a while.
Comments: 26
Kudos: 89





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I needed more content with Fox and Little Cato being bros so I made this. That's it. That's all it is.

Fox narrowed his eyes at Little Cato. It wasn’t that the Ventrexian had done anything inherently irritating, he had just run into the wall trying to walk out the door. That might not have been such an issue if he hadn’t already run into the wall three times already.

Concern. There was a lot of concern going on.

Once Little Cato had finally managed to get himself out the door, Fox got up to follow him. “Hold up, Ventrexian!”

Little Cato turned, glancing around for a second or two before locating Fox. “Oh, hey. What’s up?”

“You good?” Fox asked. “You seem kind of off today.”

Little Cato shot off some finger guns, which was a weird way to answer the question.

Fox took note of Little Cato’s sagging eyes and slumped posture. His gaze wasn’t really focused on anything at all, completely spaced out. “When was the last time you slept, man?”

The smile on Little Cato’s face faltered for a second. “Uh… yes?”

“That was… an incorrect answer.” Fox frowned. “Very incorrect.”

Little Cato pointed at Fox and shot back, “ _You’re_ an incorrect answer.” He paused for a moment, then let his hand fall back to his side. “Y’know, that sounded a lot better in my head.”

Fox rolled his eyes. “Alright, you need to sleep.” He started to usher Little Cato towards their room. “Come on, Ventrexian.”

But Little Cato slipped under his arm and moved away. “I feel great! I’m totally fine, really!” He threw out his hands as if that might demonstrate his point, and smacked his arm against the wall. Fox expected some kind of reaction, but Little Cato simply looked at the door and muttered, “Was that there a second ago?”

“Yes,” Fox answered. At this point, Little Cato was distracted enough that he could just grab the Ventrexian by the back of the shirt and carry him like the loaf of bread he was. The struggling from Little Cato was weak, but determined.

“Put me down!” He demanded, “I don’t wanna go to bed!”

Fox snorted. “What are you, five?”

Little Cato glared at him. “You will rue this day Tryvuulian.”

“I’m sure.” Fox tossed Little Cato onto the top bunk in their room and crossed arms. Kind of. It was hard to do with a gun for a hand. “Stay here and get some sleep.”

He left feeling triumphant. Little Cato was tucked away in his room and, it probably wouldn’t be long until he was asleep.

The sound of a door opening made him whirl back around. Little Cato stood in the doorway, an eyebrow raised. “I can open a door, Fox.” He took off down the hall. “You’re gonna have to do better than that!”

“Stupid little-” Fox ran after him. “Get back here Ventrexian!”

“No!” Little Cato called back.

Fox nearly missed the turn Little Cato took. The sharp corner caught him off balance, and he barely managed to reorient himself. By the time he was back on Little Cato’s trail, the Ventrexian was already at the end of another hall.

Little Cato grinned at Fox over his shoulder and waved cheerfully. “Catch me if you can, Tryvuulian!” Just when Fox thought he might lose Little Cato around another corner, HUE lumbered into view. Unfortunately, they slammed right into each other.

HUE got up slowly looked at Little Cato with robotic curiosity. “Sorry, Little Cato. I did not see you coming around the corner. Are you alright?”

Little Cato blinked dazedly. “Uh-huh…” He gave the AI a confused smile. “Have you always had a twin, HUE?”

HUE tilted his head. “That would be impossible, Little Cato.”

Fox pulled Little Cato off the floor. “Don’t mind him, HUE. The Ventrexian’s gotta few screws loose.”

“I’m fine,” Little Cato insisted, “Fox is the one freaking out.”

“Shut up,” Fox said. “Anyway, I’m gonna get him to bed.”

HUE looked Little Cato up and down, probably analyzing him. “Yes… he seems like he could use some sleep.”

Little Cato tried to pull away from Fox. “I don’t need tired, I’m not sleep.” He stopped pulling and squinted at the wall. “…wait.”

“Make that a lot of sleep,” HUE corrected. “You better make sure he doesn’t get away from you again.”

“Hey!” Fox protested. “I almost had him!”

“No you didn’t,” HUE replied.

Fox huffed. “Whatever.” He grabbed Little Cato by the arm and pulled him back towards their room.

“Do I get a say in this?” Little Cato asked as Fox led him through the hallways.

Fox shook his head. “Not really.”

“Uuuuuuugh.” Little Cato’s head fell back. “This is such _crap_. I’m not even that-” He was interrupted by a wide yawn. “…tired.” He glared at Fox. “That meant _nothing_. Shut up.”

“Sure it didn’t,” Fox said. “Man, why you fightin’ sleep so hard?” He asked. “And why didn’t I know? I’m your roommate.”

“We got Dimensional Keys to find,” Little Cato said blearily. “I been sneaking out to sit in the control room and talk to AVA. We haven’t figured anything out yet.”

Fox looked down at him disapprovingly. “Seriously? What good are you gonna be looking for the Keys if you’re totally wiped out?”

Little Cato snorted. “I’m not much help well-rested, either.”

“What do you mean?” Fox remembered all the fights they had won with Little Cato’s help. The race, the KVNs, Hushfluffles, and more. He was incredibly competent in battle, though Fox would never actually tell him that.

The Ventrexian scowled. “Gary lost his best friend… his planet… the girl he loved. I can’t let him lose anything else.”

“You could do that better if you were rested,” Fox pointed out.

Little Cato shook his head. “No. I can do that by _finding_ the Keys.” He narrowed his eyes. “I’m gonna fix it. I’m gonna-”

Fox opened the door to the room they shared. “Look, I’m sure Gary appreciates the help and all, but the guy cares about you. I don’t think he’d be too happy if he found out you hadn’t been sleeping.” He gave Little Cato a reassuring smile. “Besides, it’s not like it was your fault.”

“But it was.”

Fox halted and stared at Little Cato in surprise. “What?”

Little Cato looked at the floor. “It _was_ my fault. If I had just been faster, I could have saved my dad and…” He ran a hand through his hair. “And if I had just killed the Lord Commander like I was supposed to, we wouldn’t have to be doing… _this_.” He took a shuddering breath. “I had one job. Kill the Lord Commander. That’s _all_ I had to do.”

“Little Cato-”

“I was _right there,”_ Little Cato continued, “That’s why I can’t stop, I _have_ to make it right. For Gary. For _everyone_.” He looked up at Fox miserably. “I can’t stop.”

Fox scooped up Little Cato and threw him back on the top bunk. “Yes, you can. And you are.”

Little Cato groaned. “Did you hear anything I just said?”

“Yeah,” Fox said, “And it’s stupid.”

That made the Ventrexian sit up straight. “Stupid? How is losing my father, Gary’s planet, _and_ Quinn _stupid?!”_

 _“_ Because _you_ didn’t lose them!” Fox shouted. “It wasn’t your fault!”

“Well then whose fault is it?!” Little Cato asked angrily. “If it’s not _my_ fault, then who else is there to blame?”

“Nobody!” Fox threw his arms in the air out of frustration. “It wasn’t anybody’s fault! You _all_ failed, it _happens_. What matters is that you’re gonna _fix_ it.”

Little Cato balled his fists. “But I should’ve done _better_.”

“I don’t know much about you Ventrexian,” Fox said, “But I know that when you fight you give 100%. Whatever you did or didn’t do, you did your _best_.”

“But-”

“Nope,” Fox interrupted. “You told Gary that _his_ best was good enough. So why doesn’t _your_ best get to be good enough too?”

“I-!” Little Cato hesitated. “I… I don’t know.”

Fox rolled his eyes. “ _Exactly_. You don’t even know _why_ you’re being so hard on yourself.” He softened his tone a bit. “Your best _is_ good enough. Nobody else blames you, and shouldn’t either.”

Little Cato blinked at him. He looked marginally less miserable, which Fox was happy about,but it wasn’t the main goal.

“Look, I’m gonna go find the others and tell them you’re resting.” He turned to leave. “You get some sleep, okay?”

“Y-yeah… I think I… yeah.” Little Cato smiled. “Thanks, Fox.”

“Don’t mention it,” Fox replied. Then he narrowed his eyes. “Seriously. _Never_ mention it. If everyone finds out I helped you-”

Little Cato laughed. “I got it, I got it.” He yawned. “For real, though. Thanks.”

Fox waited for Little Cato to lay down before closing the door behind him. He stood outside the door for a moment, replaying their conversation over and over in his head. Little Cato had really been blaming himself over this? Because he hadn’t killed the Lord Commander?

How much more was Little Cato keeping bottled up in there?

Fox sighed and went to go find Gary. “Stupid little Ventrexian…”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another Fox and Little Cato drabble becAUSE I CAN-  
> Takes place after that thing with Clarence.

Fox’s head hurt. That was the only thing he could think when he finally woke up. The lights in the medbay were dimmed, so they weren’t so harsh on his eyes, but it still burned just a bit.

Lifting his head, he managed to glance around. Ash was on the floor next to him, leaning against the healing chamber. She looked like she was asleep.

“Hey,” a voice whispered.

Fox whipped his head around, and immediately regretted it. His brain screamed in protest at the sudden movement. Spots danced in his vision.

The glass door opened. “Don’t move too fast, man. Take it easy.” Fox’s vision cleared enough to see Little Cato. The Ventrexian nodded to Ash on the floor. “She refused to leave. I think she left once to talk to Gary and Nightfall, but that’s about it.”

He tried opening his mouth to say something, but Little Cato cut him off. “Look, I know you got some questions, but I don’t wanna wake up Ash.” Little Cato offered him a hand. “Think you can stand?”

Fox nodded and took Little Cato’s hand. He gave a surprisingly strong tug and helped Fox out of the chamber. It felt good to stand, even though his head was spinning. It felt like he had been laying there for weeks.

“AVA said if I was gonna take you anywhere, it had to be straight to our room. You still need some rest.” Little Cato grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled something down. “I’ll leave a note for Ash, and then we can go, okay?”

The walk to their room seemed to take forever, and it was eerily quiet. “Where is everyone?”

“Asleep,” Little Cato replied, “It’s been a long day.” They finally reached their room and the door whirred open. “Though, I’m sure you’re too tired to-”

“No,” Fox said quickly, “I wanna know _everything_ that happened.”

Little Cato hesitated. “Are… are you sure you can handle that right now? I mean… you _just_ woke up.”

Fox pushed past Little Cato and sat down on his bed. “Yeah. I’m sure.”

There was a brief pause before Little Cato pulled the chair away from his desk. “Alright, man. If you’re really sure.” He tapped his fingers on his leg. “Let’s just start with what you already know. Can you tell me what happened to you?”

Everything that happened slammed into Fox’s mind like a freight train. “My dad… _Clarence_ , stole the Dimensional Keys. I told him Gary needed them to save Quinn but he wouldn’t listen to me and… I threatened him. With my gun.” He frowned. “I couldn’t go through with it though. He ended up tasering me.”

Little Cato raised an eyebrow. “He… _tasered_ you? But-”

“I fell.” Fox felt his head throb with the memory. “I hit a pipe or… something, I’m not sure. I powered AVA back on and got a message to Ash. That’s all I remember.”

“Okay.” Little Cato laced his fingers together. “So, after you got your message to Ash, she and KVN came back here to help you. According to Ash, AVA didn’t have the materials required to save you, but KVN did. You have him to thank for being alive.”

Fox put a hand over his heart. “Aw… See, this is why I love KVN. He’s such a cool robot friend.”

Little Cato snorted. “Don’t let Gary hear you say that.”

“I don’t care what Gary says, KVN’s a good guy.” He let his hand fall back into his lap. “Unlike _some_ people.” He looked back up at Little Cato. “What happened while Ash and KVN were helping me?”

“Short version? We found him, we left him, and now we’re here.” Little Cato gave him a knowing smile. “But I’m sure the short version not gonna cut it, huh?”

“Nuh-uh,” Fox said, “Tell me everything.”

Little Cato crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. “Well, Gary, Nightfall, and I stole a… Chucky. We stole a Chucky. Anyway, we were chasing Clarence who shed his skin and turned into a giant rat-snake thing.”

Fox shuddered. “I hate that skin.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t a fan either,” Little Cato agreed. “Anyway, Gary fell off of Chucky and I jumped off after him. We landed on the car he jacked, but he shook us off.

“He ended up crashing the car, and we ended up falling through the air. We all ended up on the train somehow, and he had him cornered, but…”

“Another skin?”

Little Cato nodded. “Some kind of bug, I think. Whatever it was, it could fly. We lost track of him for a while after that.” He scowled. “And when we found him, it was already too late. He had given the Dimensional Keys to Sheryl.”

Fox’s jaw dropped. “Gary’s _mom?”_ He clenched his fist angrily. “He said he was leaving us because he had found somebody that loved _him_ as much as he loved _her_. That lady didn’t even care about her own kid!”

“Yeah, and she didn’t care about Clarence either,” Little Cato added. “He was alone when we found him, said Sheryl had taken the Keys and left him. But we know where she’s headed now. We’re gonna track her down and get the Keys.”

The fact that they had lost the Keys wasn’t too reassuring, but at least they knew where to start searching.

And yet… they wouldn’t have lost them at all if he had stopped Clarence. But he didn’t. “I can’t believe I let him get away from me.”

Little Cato looked at him in surprise. “What? Dude, he tasered you. You hit your head, you almost _died_ , Fox.”

“I know but…” He gesture to his right arm. “I _could_ have stopped him.”

“Look, Fox,” Little Cato leaned forward. “Clarence was your father. No one would have expected you to shoot him. Not in a million years would _any_ of us have wanted you to do that.”

Fox sighed. “I guess not.” He fought back the tears welling up in his eyes. “It’s just… I can’t believe our _own_ dad would do this to us. We _trusted_ him.”

Little Cato scoot the chair forward a bit so he could put a hand on Fox’s shoulder. “I could sit here and tell you that everything’s gonna be okay and that you’ll feel better once you get some sleep, but I’m not.

“Because it _sucks_ , man. I _know_ it sucks. You’ve just been betrayed by someone you loved and trusted, and it sucks.” Little Cato offered him a sympathetic smile. “It’s not okay. Not even close. But you’re a tough guy, Fox, and you _will_ get through this.”

That helped. Fox wasn’t sure how, but that had _really_ helped. Most people’s first response _would_ have been to tell him that everything would be okay, even though it definitely wasn’t. He appreciated Little Cato’s honesty more than anything else.

But one thing was still tugging at the back of his mind.

“I can’t believe you of all people are comforting me about not shooting Clarence.”

Little Cato sat back up in his chair. “What do you mean?”

Fox paused. “Well, you know… if I _had_ shot Clarence, I could’ve stopped him. We wouldn’t be _in_ this situation right now. Sure, he was my dad and all, but maybe I should’ve… I mean, if it was necessary…”

“Hey man, don’t think like that,” Little Cato warned. “Could’ve, Should’ve, Would’ve is _not_ a healthy way to think about things.”

“Look my point is: You shot _your_ dad because it was necessary,” Fox said, “And I can’t believe you’re comforting me about not doing the same.”

Little Cato blanched. “That… oh.” He ran a hand through his mohawk. “Look man, that is _so_ not the same thing. _My_ dad was going to _kill_ Gary. It was either shoot him or let Gary die. _Your_ dad was just stealing something, and it wasn’t even _trying_ to kill you. It’s totally understandable that you’d be hesitant to shoot him.”

Fox felt another wave of relief wash over him. He didn’t feel _good_ by any means, but talking to Little Cato was helping. “Yeah… also your dad is possessed.”

“Sure is,” Little Cato confirmed. “And _your_ dad is… well…

“A jerk?”

“That’s a nice way of putting it,” Little Cato agreed. “Man, we got some messed up stuff going on, huh?”

Fox groaned. “No kidding.” He laid down in his bed. “Ugh, between the head wound, the stolen Keys, and the paternal betrayal, I am totally beat.”

Little Cato laughed. “You’ve been asleep for, like, _ever.”_

“It’s not the same and you know it,” Fox shot back, “Now shut up and let me sleep.”

“Alright, alright.” Little Cato stretched. “Think I’m gonna hit the sack too.” He climbed up the ladder to his bunk. “Goodnight, man.”

Fox paused for a moment. “Little Cato?

Little Cato leaned over his bunk to look at Fox. “Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

Little Cato gave an awkward upside down shrug. “No problem,” he replied. “I’m always here for you, man, what are friends for? ”

Fox smiled. “Just don’t tell anyone?”

“Just don’t tell anyone,” Little Cato agreed as he disappeared back into the top bunk, “As far as anyone else knows, we still hate each other.”

“Stupid Ventrexian.”

“Tryvuulian oaf.”

Fox closed his eyes, tiredness finally overtaking him. “Goodnight, Little Cato.”

“Goodnight, Fox.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dadspeed prompt for you :) Gary finds out that Little Cato has never gone to a fair/carnival before and ,since he's never been to one either, he decides it is the perfect adopted dad-son bonding time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A fair??? Oh my crap that’s adorable, thank you so much for this prompt!
> 
> (also, i have never actually been to a fair, so i apologize in advance if this seems off or if my descriptions seem vague and non-specific)

Gary gazed out the window absently, smiling to himself as they passed a planet with soft pink cloud formations. “Ha… hey Nightfall, Little Cato. Look at this.” He pointed out the clouds. “Looks like cotton candy.”

Nightfall peered over his shoulder. “Kinda does.” She chuckled. “Man, that brings back memories… my sister took me to a fair once. We ate so much cotton candy we got sick.”

“Aw, whaaaaat? You’ve been to a fair before?” Gary mock pouted. “You lucky duck.”

“Have you never been?”

Gary shook his head. “Nah.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “My dad was Infinity Guard and my mom… well, we just never had time.”

Little Cato looked back and forth between them. “What… what’s a _fair?_ Is that an Earth thing?”

 _“On the contrary,”_ AVA chimed in. _“Fairs are a universal attraction. There are entire planets dedicated to the creation of fairs, theme parks, and carnivals.”_

Gary put his hands together and inhaled slowly. “So you’re telling me that fairs exist _literally_ all over the galaxy…” He turned to Little Cato. “And you haven’t been to a _single one?”_

“You just said you haven’t-”

“We are righting this grievous wrong!” Gary shouted. “AVA! Take us to the nearest fair!”

Nightfall raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about this?”

“We are going to the fair, Nightfall!” Gary declared. “And you cannot stop us!”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say Captain.”

Little Cato raised his hand. “I still don’t know what-”

“All questions will be answered!” Gary interrupted. “But for now… _to the carnival!”_

Luckily, AVA had been right about fairs being universal. It didn’t take them long to locate a planet with a set of rides, booths, games, and _really_ unhealthy food. It was perfect.

Gary practically leapt out of the ship. “Come on! Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”

Little Cato followed closely behind him. “Uh, Gary? What is… any of this?”

“I am _so_ glad you asked.” Gary started gesturing to the different attractions around them. “Those are games you can play to win prizes! Those over there are food stands. We’ll swing by some of those later to get cotton candy. But the _real_ reason fairs are so fun are the _rides_.”

“Rides?” Little Cato asked curiously. “What kind of rides?”

Gary grabbed his shoulders and turned him towards the metal structures behind the line of booths. “ _Those_ kinds of rides.”

Little Cato’s eyes widened. “You can _ride_ those?” He asked incredulously. “Are they _safe?”_

“Probably!” Gary waved him forward. “Let’s go find out!” He continued to the rides, maneuvering the crowd with ease. Growing up alone wasn’t ideal, and neither was being a thief in the city, but it had its perks. It certainly made him an expert on getting through crowds.

Little Cato, on the other hand, was not. Gary didn’t notice Little Cato was having trouble keeping up until he was already halfway through the crowd of people.

“Spider-Cat?” Gary looked around, panic seizing him when he couldn’t immediately spot his kid in the crowd. “Where’d you go?”He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “Little Cato!”

“Gary!” Little Cato grabbed his sleeve. “I’m right here.”

Gary whirled around. “Oh my crap, Spider-Cat! I thought I lost you there for a second.”

“Sorry. It’s just… big crowd, you know? Easy to get lost.” He rubbed his arm. “I’ll try to stick closer.”

“No, it’s probably my fault for running off,” Gary admitted. “Let’s try this.” He took Little Cato’s hand and grinned. “There we go! Now we can’t lose each other.” He pointed to the ride that greatly resembled one of the rides on Earth. “Onward to fun!”

Little Cato didn’t move. He just stared at their hands for a second.

“What’s the matter, Spider-Cat?” Gary teased. “Embarrassed to be holding your dad’s hand?”

“No.” Little Cato gripped his hand tighter. “Not at all.”

Gary tried to ignore his heart swelling with joy. Little Cato wasn’t embarrassed by him. Little Cato actually enjoyed spending time with him. Holy crap, is this what paternal love felt like?

The rides were fun, though Gary and Little Cato both agreed that they were nothing compared to their own crazy high-flying adventures. Once you’ve flown in the Toro-Regatta, it’s hard to imagine the Tilt-A-Whirl being all that exciting.

But the thing Gary was most appalled by was the Little Cato’s reaction to the food. Even though Gary hadn’t been to a fair before, he had still tried cotton candy before. It’s not like the stuff was exclusive to fairs and carnivals. You could get it in a store if you knew what store to look in.

Little Cato, however, was skeptical of it, inspecting his paper cone of pink clouds carefully. “You can actually _eat_ this stuff? It looks like… I don’t even know what it looks like.”

“Just try it.” Gary plucked off a piece and popped it in his mouth. “It’s basically pure sugar.”

“Seriously?” Little Cato gave it one more suspicious glare before tearing off a bite. He blinked in shock. “It melted! How’d it do that?”

Gary laughed. “Like I said: pure sugar.” He jut a thumb over at the booths. “Wanna try some games? I bet you’d kill at the shooting ranges.”

Little Cato’s eyes lit up. “There’s shooting games?” He split the rest of his cotton candy in two and handed half to Gary. “Do you really think I’d be any good?”

“Pfft, are you kidding?” Gary ruffled his hair. “I’ve seen you shoot a gun. You’d totally _crush_ these games! In fact,” He led Little Cato to a booth. “Let’s try one out right now.”

It looked stunningly similar to the duck ranges he had seen in movies. Only there weren’t ducks. Gary wasn’t sure what kind of alien animal was painted on the moving panels, he just knew that Little Cato was nailing every single one of them.

Gary lost track of how many how many targets Little Cato shot, but it was enough to win. Oddly enough, the booth had teddy bears for prizes. Gary had always that those were pretty exclusive to Earth, but apparently other planets had discovered the snuggly potential of a stuffed bear.

Little Cato had picked out a red one and stared at it in wonder. “I won this.” He held it up for Gary to see. “Look, Gary! _I_ won this. All by myself!”

Gary smiled. “You were awesome, Spider-Cat. To the max core.” Little Cato beamed and hugged the bear.

As badly as Gary didn’t want the day to end, they _did_ still have a mission. But Gary had one more thing he wanted to do. It was basically a requirement for going to a fair.

“Alright, kid.” Gary ushered him to the tallest ride in the park. “Time for the grand finale.”

Little Cato gazed up at the giant wheel in awe. “That’s the biggest circle I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“And we’re fixing to be on the top of it.” Gary and Little Cato hopped into a car and waited for the ride to start. “If movies have taught me anything, it’s that the Ferris Wheel is always the _best_ part of the fair.”

The ride jolted to a start and Little Cato looked down at the ground shrinking below them. “Everything looks so tiny from up here.”

Gary tried to remember the last time he had seen Little Cato smile so much. Sure, he was a pretty upbeat kid most of the time but-

“Gary?” Little Cato looked at him worriedly. “You okay?”

“I’m great,” Gary replied. “Actually, I’m feeling better than I have in a really long time.”

Little Cato smiled. “Yeah. Me too.” He leaned back in his seat and looked up at the roof of their car. “I don’t think I’ve _ever_ had this much fun.”

Gary looped his arm around Little Cato’s shoulders. “We’re gonna have to do this again sometime.”

“Definitely,” Little Cato agreed. “As soon as we get my dad back and we save Quinn, we can bring them here. Fox and Ash, too. We’ll bring everyone.” Little Cato smiled tiredly. “And then they can have as much fun as we did.”

There were still Dimensional Keys to find, and a universe to save, and Quinn was still stuck in Final Space… but Little Cato deserved a day not filled with terror and imminent death.

And Gary was more than happy to give it to him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How about a oneshot of Gary celebrating an earth holiday with Lil Cato? Like, Halloween or something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh this has so much potential and I don’t know if I’ll do it justice, but I’ma try!
> 
> *spends three hours trying to figure out which holiday i should write because i want to write them all*
> 
> (agh this turned into a Dadspeed with all the kids, not just Little Cato, i hope that’s okay, i just couldn’t resist)

Gary had spent a _really_ long time alone. Five years of no one but him and a bunch of robots. Celebrations were few and far between, and they hadn’t gotten any more frequent in the last few months either.

“HUE,” Gary spun around to face his AI friend, “When’s the next holiday? In Earth time?”

The stout robot hummed. _“Well, if the Earth was still in its proper rotation, it would be June 18th, meaning the closest holiday would be Fathers’ Day.”_

“Oh.” Gary laughed uncomfortably. “Well, that’s… wow. Okay, maybe we _don’t_ make that my first celebration in five years.” He got up from his chair. “I’m gonna go find Mooncake and wait for the 4th of July or something.”

He passed Little Cato on his way out, who had been trying to listen in on their conversation from across the room. He barely heard anything over Ash and Fox’s idle chatter. So as soon as Gary was out of the room, he walked over to HUE and asked, “What was Gary asking you about?”

 _“He asked me about the closest Earth holiday,”_ HUE answered. _“But he didn’t seem interested in the upcoming Fathers’ Day.”_

 _Little_ Cato frowned. “Fathers’ Day?” He turned and called to the other kids. “Hey Fox, Ash! You guys know what a Fathers’ Day is?”

Fox and Ash glanced at each other. “Sounds like a holiday celebrating… fathers,” Ash said.

“Seems kinda obvious,” Fox added as they joined Little Cato by HUE. “Why do you ask?”

“Gary was asking HUE about holidays,” Little Cato explained. “Apparently there’s one on Earth called Father’s Day that’s coming up pretty soon.”

HUE pointed a finger at the ceiling. _“In three days, in fact.”_

“What are you three up too?”

Little Cato, Fox, and Ash jumped at the sound of Nightfall’s voice. “Nothing!” Fox yelped.

“We’re not doing anything,” Ash said quickly.

Rolling his eyes, Little Cato reminded them, “We’re not doing anything _wrong,_ you guys. You don’t have to pretend you’re covering something up.” It was an old habit of theirs, most likely learned from Clarence. Hopefully they’d be a little less jumpy when faced with confrontation now that he was gone.

Nightfall raised an eyebrow. “So… you gonna enlighten me?”

“Nothing much to say,” Little Cato admitted. “We were just wondering what Gary might have against Fathers’ Day.”

The time-traveler blanched. “Fathers’ Day? Why are you…” She paused. “Oh, it _is_ June, isn’t it?” She sighed. “Well, if he’s anything like _my_ Gary, it’s just a painful reminder of his father.”

“Did he have… a _bad_ relationship with his father?” Ash asked nervously.

Nightfall shook her head. “No. Quite the opposite really. Gary and his father were about as close as two people could be. The day Gary lost his father was probably the worst day of his life.”

Fox gasped. “Well, no _wonder_ he doesn’t wanna celebrate Fathers’ Day!” He exclaimed, “No one wants to celebrate a _dead_ dad!”

Ash elbowed him. _“Fox.”_

“What?”

Little Cato tapped his chin thoughtfully. “What if Gary _didn’t_ celebrate Fathers’ Day.” Fox, Ash, and Nightfall turned to him curiously. He grinned back at them. “But what if _we_ did?”

Nightfall gave him an approving look. “Looking to return that adoption surprise, huh?”

“Something like that,” Little Cato agreed. “But I think Gary just… he kinda needs a win, you know? And what better way than to celebrate a day _literally_ all about dads?”

“But Gary hasn’t adopted _us,”_ Ash pointed out. “Can we still… you know, celebrate?”

“Yeah…” Fox said, “It doesn’t seem right.”

Nightfall put a hand on each of their shoulders. “Let me tell you two something about Gary Goodspeed. He is an absolute _moron_ of a human being.

“He isn’t the smartest guy, or the strongest for that matter. The only thing about Gary that sets him apart from every other asshole I’ve ever met is his ridiculously huge heart.

“I have never _ever_ seen Gary turned down someone who asked for help. And the first thing Clarence did when we found him was beg to come back with us.” Nightfall hesitated. “And for a second… I thought Gary’s big heart would let him come back with us.

“But, to my surprise, Gary said _no_. And the second he said no is the second he chose your happiness and your well-being over his own morals.” Nightfall smiled warmly at Fox and Ash. “He would do anything for the two of you. Just like he’d do anything for _anyone_ that he cares about.”

Fox and Ash stared at her, both of them on the verge of tears. After everything that just happened with Clarence, it probably felt good to know they still had a place aboard the Crimson Light.

Still, there was business to take care of. They could be sappy later. Little Cato clapped loudly to break the emotional tension in the room. “So! We all agree then? Fathers’ Day for Gary?”

Ash wiped tears from her eye. “Yeah. Fathers’ Day for Gary.”

“Fathers’ Day for Gary!” Fox shouted, unashamedly bawling his eyes out.

Little Cato grinned. “Alright then. HUE? How do we celebrate a Fathers’ Day?”

The next couple of days were kind of a blur. Still no leads on the Dimensional Keys, but the kids were running around, trying to be as covert as possible.

Gary noticed, of course. Fox especially was tip-toeing around him like he might explode. Ash scurried off a lot faster than usual whenever he tried to ask her something. And Little Cato, who usually sat with him in the control room, seemed to be disappearing a lot more often.

For two days, Gary ignored everyone’s strange behavior. But the last straw was Nightfall stopping him from going into the control room on the morning of the third day.

“And why can’t I go in there again?” Gary asked.

Nightfall shrugged. “Sorry Gary, I have very strict orders. You can’t go in the control room.”

“I am the captain!” Gary protested.

“Hmmmm… are you really though?”

Gary threw up his hands in frustration. “Would you just-” He grabbed Nightfall by the shoulders and set her aside. “Let me…” The door slid open before he had a chance to do it himself. “In?”

Little Cato, Fox, and Ash were on the other side, smiles splitting their faces as they shouted, “Surprise!”

“Is anyone gonna tell me what the crap…” He trailed off when he noticed what there had been an attempt at decorating the room. “What’s all this?”

Ash was floating near the ceiling, batting at a makeshift streamer. “Well, it turns out that none of us are very good at holidays.”

“So we decorated for a party!” Fox exclaimed. “Hope that’s okay. We weren’t sure what else to do.”

Little Cato gestured around the room. “Turns out the normal traditions for a Fathers’ Day are really hard to do in space.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “But uh… we decorated!”

Gary blinked, completely blanking on what to say. “But… why would… how…”

“Nightfall told us that you and your dad were close,” Fox said. “And that was probably why you didn’t want to celebrate Fathers’ Day.”

“But!” Ash chimed in. “ _We_ can still celebrate _you._ ” She tapped her fingers together nervously. “If that’s okay with you.”

Little Cato glanced up at Gary. “Uh… _is_ this okay?”

Gary couldn’t form a thought, he almost couldn’t get any words out around the lump in his throat. He just barely managed to say, “You three better get over here and give me a hug.” before he was completely overwhelmed with emotion.

His Ventrexian son smiled and hugged him tightly around the waist. Fox and Ash, looking relieved, immediately dove into the embrace. “Happy Fathers’ Day, Gary,” Little Cato whispered.

Nightfall, from the doorway, watched all of this with a small smile of her own. Who would have thought Gary, in _any_ timeline, would have turned out to be a father of three?

More than that, he was a _great_ father of three.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How about a one-shot of Gary looking after Little Cato when he gets seriously ill and ends up in a coma for a couple of days? Also your one-shots are sweet ^^

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sick-fic for the cat boyo!

Little Cato felt how the Lord Commander looked, which basically meant he felt like crap, but also like he was dying. And, you know, maybe he was dying, but he wasn’t going to let a little death stop him.

Besides, what was the worst that could happen? He had a runny nose for a couple of days? That was nothing! He could definitely handle a little sickness.

But a couple of days turned into a week, and he felt worse and worse every time he forced himself out of bed. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been sick before, because he definitely had. He just hadn’t had a reason to hide it before because no one had really cared.

The soldiers hadn’t cared if he was sick, the Lord Commander hadn’t cared if he was sick, but Gary would probably care a whole _lot_ if he was sick. He couldn’t afford to let Gary get distracted just because _he_ was sick. The poor guy had enough to deal with.

“You sure you’re good to pilot?” Gary asked. “You’re looking a little under the weather.”

Little Cato mustered his best smile and gave Gary a thumbs up. “I’m all good Thunder Bandit! If anything goes wrong, I’ll have AVA on it _asap_.”

Gary smiled reluctantly. “Well, alright. If you’re sure.” He left Little Cato alone with the controls. Little Cato sighed in relief, tricking Gary into thinking he wasn’t sick was getting harder and harder.

But he _would_ get better. Eventually.

“Little Cato!” He jumped at the sound of his name being shouted. Fox was frowning down at him. “Did you zone out or something, Ventrexian?”

Blinking rapidly to regain his focus, Little Cato realized that he didn’t recognize any of the planets they were flying past. How long had he blanked out for? Everything was so blurry, it was hard to distinguish anything.

Rest. That was probably all he needed. Just a _little_ rest, though. “Ah, sorry. That’s my bad.” He got up from his seat and immediately stumbled into the controls. “Whoa…”

Fox suddenly looked more concerned than annoyed. “Uh… you doin’ okay?”

Little Cato gave him a thumbs up. “Absolutely!” He pushed himself back up and made his way towards the door. “Maybe just put AVA on autopilot for a while, huh? I’m gonna…”

He trailed off, unable to force the words out of his throat. The ship was spinning, was it supposed to be spinning? His vision was going gray around the edges, and he knew it wasn’t supposed to do that. There was a ringing sound somewhere that he couldn’t identify.

“You’re not lookin’ so hot,” Fox said, though Little Cato could hardly make out his voice over the ringing in his ears. “Maybe you should go lay down.”

Little Cato nodded. “You know, that’s not a bad idea.” He flashed what he hoped was a convincing smile. “I’ll be back after a quick nap. Don’t do anything stupid without me.”

Fox opened his mouth to say something, but Little Cato closed the door before he could. As much as he liked Fox, he couldn’t deal with their usual bickering right now.

The walk back to his room was slow, and he had to keep leaning against the wall for support. It was frustrating. What if someone saw him like this? They’d _know_ something was wrong.

So he pushed himself off the wall and forced himself to walk in a (probably) straight line. Why was he shaking so much? Had it always been this cold on the Crimson Light?

He opened the door to his room and quickly closed it behind him. Letting himself slide to the floor, he wondered how the crap he was going to climb that stupid ladder. A small voice in the back of his mind whispered that he could always just go get Gary, but he shut that down hard, standing back up just to spite the idea.

“I don’t _need_ to go get Gary.” He grabbed the rungs of the ladder and hauled himself up. “It’s not that bad, I’m not even that sick.” His body felt like it might give out at any given moment, but he managed to get to the top of the ladder.

Little Cato collapsed his bed and laughed weakly. “See? Not that bad.” His vision started to black out. “It’s not… it’s not that bad…”

Afternoon came and passed, and Little Cato slept all through the night and into the next day. Fox and made an attempt to wake him, but gave up after a few minutes. If Little Cato was that tired, maybe he should just keep sleeping.

Nobody really thought much of Little Cato’s absence until Gary looked around and asked, “Where’s Little Cato?”

“He’s asleep,” Fox answered.

Gary frowned. “Still? But it’s been almost a whole _day_.”

KVN hummed as he floated around Gary’s head. “Maybe he died.”

If you could stop a heart with three words, those would be it. Gary glared at KVN with barely concealed rage. “I will _kill_ you for that later, but for now I’m just- I’m gonna go check on him.” 

KVN’s words kept echoing around in his head as he made his way to Little Cato’s room. Little Cato wasn’t dead. He couldn’t be. The kid was just fine the day before, there’s no way he’d just suddenly up and die.

Although… had Little Cato _really_ been okay when Gary asked him? He did seem off. But if Little Cato was feeling out of sorts, he would _definitely_ come tell Gary about it, right? He wouldn’t keep something like that a secret… would he?

He opened the door to Little Cato’s room. “Hey! Time to get up sleepyhead.” When he didn’t get an immediate response, he moved to stand beside the bunk beds and knocked on the metal frame. “Come on, kid, you’ve been asleep long enough.”

Still no answer.

“Spider-Cat?” He grabbed Little Cato’s shoulder. “Kid, _wake up_.” He shook Little Cato but there was still no reaction. “Little Cato!” The kid was trembling under his hand. Gary moved to check his forehead and recoiled immediately. “What the hell…” Little Cato was burning up, his fur matted with feverish perspiration.

And he wasn’t waking up.

Gary scooped Little Cato out of the top bunk and carried him out of the room. He wanted to run to the medbay as fast as he possibly could, but he forced himself to hold the kid steady.

How did this happen? How could he have _let_ this happen? He _knew_ something was off. He should have _said_ something. He should have _made_ Little Cato tell him what was wrong.

“AVA!” Gary was thankful the doors on the Crimson Light could open themselves. He didn’t have time for inconveniences like doorknobs right now. “I need you to fix Little Cato!”

 _“I can’t just ‘fix him’,”_ AVA replied, _“I don’t even know what’s wrong.”_

Gary set Little Cato down gave the ceiling a scathing look. “Then _figure out_ what’s wrong with him! Then _fix_ it!”

“Gary?” Nightfall’s voice made him turn. “What’s going on? Is he okay?”

“No,” Gary said. “I mean, I-I don’t know. I…” He struggled to keep a level head. “He won’t wake up.”

“What do you mean-”

“I mean he won’t wake up.” Gary felt bad for snapping, but he was so on edge he could barely think. “He’s _sick_ , Nightfall. _Really_ sick, and I should have noticed! But I didn’t notice, and he didn’t tell me, and now he’s…” He sat down on the floor and leaned against the bed he had laid Little Cato down on.

AVA’s voice made him look up. _“Little Cato appears to be suffering from a virus, something akin to the Earthen flu. His symptoms include fever, nausea, sinus issues-”_

Gary shook his head. “That can’t be right. The flu doesn’t knock people like this.” He stood up and pointed at his kid. “The flu doesn’t put people in friggin’ comas!”

 _“If you would let me finish,”_ AVA said with robotic annoyance, _“I could have told you that his condition has been significantly worsened due to stress.”_

Nightfall tipped her head. “Stress?”

“How does stress cause _this_?” Gary gestured wildly at his comatose son. “Stress doesn’t _do_ this!”

 _“It would take a very extensive amount of stress to do this much damage,”_ AVA agreed, _“Though I am hazy on what could be its source. Therefore, I am entrusting someone else to explain it to you.”_

The door opened, and HUE waddled in. _“Thank you, AVA.”_ HUE imitated a throat being cleared. _“Little Cato’s list of potential sources of stress, as far as my records show: almost being killed Avocato, imprisoned by the Lord Commander, being rescued by Avocato father only to watch him die moments later, immediately thrown into a war he knew little to nothing about other than he wanted to fight the Lord Commander, he was lost in space with no knowledge of his friends’ well-being, trapped in a time shard for 60 insanity-inducing years, saved the father who didn’t remember him, watched Gary get possessed and try to kill him, watched Avocato get possessed and try to kill Gary, had to experience Avocato approaching him with a gun for a second time, was forced to shoot Avocato to save Gary, and most recently, he believed himself unworthy to be part of this group and, believing he was a potential danger to us, fled to a group of bandits because he didn’t think he deserved the company of good people.”_

Gary knew this. He knew all of this. But hearing it all out loud, all at once, made it seem almost impossible. Just hearing it made Gary’s head spin, he couldn’t imagine having to live it.

 _“This,”_ AVA continued, _“Combined with his increasingly severe illness, has caused his body to completely shut down. My guess is he’s been sick for about a week now.”_

“A week?!” Gary exclaimed. “Are you kidding me?” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “No, of course you’re not kidding. Little Cato probably thought he could just tough it out.”

Nightfall put a hand on his shoulder. “Little Cato’s a tough guy, Gary. He’ll be okay.”

Gary shrugged her off. “He shouldn’t _have_ to be a ‘tough guy’, he’s fourteen.” He felt a fresh wave of tears well up in his eyes as he gazed at his sick child. “And _I’m_ supposed to take care of him.”

“And you are,” Nightfall insisted, “You can’t control what Little Cato does and doesn’t tell you. The most you can do is let him know that you’re there for him when he does want to tell you something.”

“I’ll be sure to let him know,” Gary said bitterly, “Just as soon as he wakes up.”

Gary knew the best case scenario was that Little Cato’s fever broke and he was awake by the end of the day. Of course, when it came to Little Cato, there was rarely a best case scenario that came to pass. He dragged a chair into the room and sat down next to the bed and waited, but there was still no indication that Little Cato would wake up, at least not today.

Since there was no way he was leaving Little Cato’s side, Gary opted to spend the night in the medbay. It was a pretty sleepless night; thanks to KVN’s comment from earlier, Gary was absolutely terrified to take his eyes off Little Cato for even a second.

The rest of the crew popped in from time to time. Fox and Ash reassured him that Little Cato would get better. He ignored HUE’s suggestion of sleep. Nightfall tried to tell him that AVA would let him know if anything happened, but Gary still refused to leave.

And he didn’t leave the day after that either. Or the day after that, but he did finally manage to get some sleep. Resting his arms on the bed and laying his head down, he drifted off, telling himself that he’d only sleep for a few minutes, then he’d go back to looking after Little Cato. Just a few minutes…

He couldn’t help but wonder if that’s what Little Cato had thought too.

Gary slept for much longer than he had anticipated. After staying up for about three days straight, he really shouldn’t have expected to just take a twenty minute nap. He didn’t want to miss the second Little Cato woke up but, unfortunately, he did.

Little Cato’s eyes opened slowly as he tried to get his bearings. “Aw crap, how long have I been out?” He sat up groggily and blinked against the bright lights. His throat felt like it was on fire. “I better get back to the controls before- this is not my room.”

The only thing more surprising than waking up in the medbay was seeing Gary sitting in a chair next to the bed, passed out with his head on his arms. It dawned on Little Cato that his hand was being held, his adopted father looking absolutely exhausted.

What the crap happened?

Reluctantly, Little Cato reached over and tapped Gary’s shoulder. “Thunder Bandit?”

The mess of blond stirred, lifting his head and squinting at Little Cato. “Spider-Cat?”

“Hey,” Little Cato croaked, his throat still sore. “What are-”

Gary stood up so fast he knocked his chair over. “YOU ARE SO GROUNDED!!”

Little Cato blanched. “Wha- huh?”

“You heard me: grounded.” Gary looked… not _angry_ , but Little Cato couldn’t place the expression. “Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?!”

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Little Cato said flippantly, “I’m not even that sick.” Gary didn’t say anything for a while, he stared at Little Cato with that same ‘almost angry but not quite’ expression on his face. “What?”

“You’ve been asleep,” Gary said slowly, “For almost _four_ _days_.”

Little Cato felt his stomach drop. How? _When?_ That couldn’t be right. He hadn’t been _that_ sick, had he? “But… that can’t be… I…” A realization struck Little Cato has he took in Gary’s tired anger and slumped posture. “Have you been sitting in here this _whole_ time?”

Who was he kidding? Of _course_ Gary had just sat in here with him. He knew Gary wouldn’t just be able to brush of him being sick, it was the whole reason he hadn’t wanted to tell Gary in the first place!

“Crap, this isn’t what was supposed to happen.” Little Cato closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I supposed to get better and you weren’t supposed to know. Now I’ve been stuck in here for four days and you’ve probably lost so much time.” He laughed humorlessly. “I’m such an idiot, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“Little Cato.” He looked up to see Gary righting his chair and sitting down. “You listen to me, and listen good because I am dead friggin’ serious right now.” He squeezed Little Cato’s hand. “ _Never_ hesitate to tell me _anything_. I don’t care if you’re sick, tired, or just having a bad day, you _tell me_.”

“But-”

“No,” Gary interrupted. “Do you have _any_ idea how worried I was?”

That made Little Cato hesitate. “Worried? About me?” He attempted a smile. “Gary, you know you don’t have to-”

Gary held up a hand. “I’m your dad now. It’s my job to worry about you. But even if I wasn’t your dad, I’d still be worried, because you’re a sick kid.” His voice softened. “AVA said your condition shouldn’t have even been as bad as it was. A lot of it had to do with stress.”

Little Cato tried to blow that particular statement off. “Pfft, _what?_ Stress? Come on, Gary, you know I don’t stress about anything.”

“Tell that to your four day coma, buddy.” Gary rubbed his eyes. “I’m _beyond_ relieved that you’re okay, Little Cato. But I’m serious about what I said earlier. You can tell me anything, at anytime.” When Gary’s hand fell away from his face, Little Cato could see how red his eyes were. “I was _scared_ , kid.”

That’s not what Little Cato had wanted to happen. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly, “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just thought I… I thought I could handle being sick.”

Gary sighed. “I know you didn’t _mean_ to. Just… stop trying to tough things out on your own, okay? Promise?”

Little Cato nodded. “I promise.”

“Good.” Gary smiled. “Now give me a hug before we both start crying.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How about a one-shot about how Gary convinces himself he’s becoming a terrible father and a disappointment and starts hearing voices in his head and shuts himself out in his room with Little Cato worrying completely? (p.s. i really love your writing uwu)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Insecure Gary you say? Why, absolutely.

Parenthood was weird. Gary had kind of just been going through the same motions he had been going through, he had already been entrusted by Avocato to be Little Cato’s guardian before the adoption, so making things official shouldn’t have made things different right?

If anything at all had changed, he just had the right to ground Little Cato. Which, thankfully, he hadn’t really had to do yet. Little Cato was a good kid, Gary didn’t think he could emotionally handle having to ground him.

_‘You’re having way too much trouble figuring this out. You’re going to be an awful parent.’_

Gary blinked and stopped walking. “Where’d that come from?” He wondered out loud.

“Where’d what come from?” Little Cato asked. Gary jumped, forgetting he had been walking with the kid alongside him.

“Nothing,” Gary said, “Just a weird thought.”

Little Cato tipped his head. “What kind of weird thought?”

_‘Are you gonna tell the kid you’re having second thoughts?’_

“No,” Gary said quickly.

“No?” Little Cato repeated.

Gary shook his head. “Uh, not you. ‘No’ to something else.” He _wasn’t_ having second thoughts. He was 100% dedicated to looking after Little Cato. Just because he was worried about how good of a job he was doing, didn’t mean he would take it back.

_‘Maybe you should. Little Cato needs someone responsible to look after him, and you can barely take care of yourself.’_

“Are you okay, Thunder Bandit?” Little Cato gazed up at him worriedly. “You look… not fine.”

Gary ruffled his hair absently, his focus being torn by the nagging voice in the back of his head. “I’m all good, Spider-Cat.” He backed away slowly and headed back to his room. “I just remembered I have to go check on something. I’ll be back later.”

Little Cato looked like he wanted to protest, but Gary didn’t want to give him the opportunity. He knew if Little Cato kept prodding, there would nothing that would stop him from spilling what was on his mind. He simply _could_ _not_ lie to Little Cato.

So he went to his room and shut the door behind him, hoping that a little quiet might help him clear his thoughts.

_‘You can’t even talk to the kid without feeling like you need to run away. How can you possibly expect to be a good parent if you can’t even talk to your kid?’_

Gary tried to convince himself that he wasn’t running from Little Cato, he just needed to get his head straight. It wasn’t like he was pushing Little Cato away. He just needed some space for a minute. That wasn’t a crime.

_‘Your mom needed some space too. Look how that turned out.’_

Anger seeped into his chest. Gary wasn’t anything like his mother. He spent a good part of his life making sure he never _ever_ turned out like Sheryl.

_‘But what if you do? What if you turn out just like her?’_

Gary sat down on his bed and buried his face in his hands.

_‘What have you done that’s better than what she did? Dragging a kid into a war for your planet? Letting him come on dangerous missions with you? Almost getting him killed? Letting him pilot himself right into time shard? You’re not better than she is, you’re the exact same. You were never going to be a good parent and you know it. Little Cato deserves better than-’_

“Gary?” A knock made Gary’s head snap up. “Gary, I know you said you were okay, but uh… you know, I just thought I’d check.” Gary was too stunned to reply. Little Cato had come to check on him? “Um… Thunder Bandit? You in there?”

Shaking himself from his stupor, Gary finally managed to reply, “Y-yeah, Spider-Cat, I’m all good.”

“Okay, that’s great. But…” The door slid open to reveal Little Cato smiling sheepishly at him. “I kinda don’t believe you? So…”

Gary knew there wasn’t a point in denying anymore. Little Cato knew something was up. “Is it that obvious?”

Little Cato nodded. “Yeah.” He hopped up on the bed next to Gary. “I don’t know if you know this but you’re, like, _really_ bad at lying.”

“I know.” Gary ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry, bud. I just got a little overwhelmed for a second.”

“Oh.” Little Cato swung his legs back and forth. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

No he absolutely did not. He did _not_ want to talk about in insecurities about _parenting_ with the kid he was supposed to be a parent _to_. That’s not how that worked. He couldn’t put that on Little Cato, it wouldn’t be fair of him.

“I’ve actually just been… thinking about my mom.”

Goddamnit.

Little Cato blinked in surprise. “Your mom? Why? I thought you hated her.”

“I do.” Gary laughed. “In fact, there aren’t words for the amount of hatred I have for that woman.” He sighed. “But, like it or not, I _am_ my mom’s son. And I can’t help but think that…”

“What?” Little Cato asked. “That you might turn out like her or something?”

Gary blanched. “How did you-”

“Dude, please, I’m like the king of repressed trauma and self-deprecation, I know it when I see it.” Little Cato leaned back on his hands. “Also, I can tell you right now that you are not, and never could be, anything like her.”

Gary frowned. “Okay, wait a second. Backing up the trauma thing? We’re _so_ talking about that later.”

Little Cato grinned. “See? _That_. That right there is why you would _never_ turn out like your mom.” He patted Gary on the shoulder. “You care about people, Gary. She doesn’t care about anyone but herself.

“You might be your mom’s son,” Little Cato continued, “But you’re your _dad’s_ son too, and he seemed really cool.”

Gary thought about that for a moment. “Yeah. My dad _was_ really cool.”

Little Cato nodded. “And also, regardless of who your parents are, you’re still just Gary. _You_ get to decide how you wanna be, it’s not predetermined or anything.” He paused for a moment. “And, for what it’s worth, I think you’re a pretty great dad.”

Well, that did it. Gary was already feeling a little better, but that last comment just about made his heart explode. “Oh, c’mere you.” He grabbed Little Cato and ruffled his hair.

“Hey!” Little Cato laughed, squirming out of Gary’s grasp. “Get off me!” He scrambled off the bed and out the door.

Gary leapt off the bed after him. “Get back here!”

“Never!” Little Cato cackled as he took off down the hallway.

There were still traces of doubt floating around Gary’s head but, you know, he figured that was probably okay. Parenting isn’t an exact science. Nobody knows what they were doing when they take care of a kid. Every parent is scared of messing up.

But chasing Little Cato through the hallways made him feel like all the confusion and panic was worth it. Because at the end of the day, all that really matters is that you try.

And Gary was _more_ than willing to try.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if prompt requests are still open or if they're even taken from anon or not, but I was thinking of a prompt where Gary comforts Lil Cato after he has a nightmare from the whole time shard incident, cause I thought that might need more closure (Hope this doesn't sound demanding or anything, I just love your one-shots too much^^)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will 1000% take anon prompts. I know sending in asks can be nerve-wracking sometimes, and I completely understand the people who prefer to be anonymous.
> 
> Also, this prompt is all of the yeeeeeeeesssssss

Gary’s eyes snapped open, pulling him from sleep and making him sit up. He didn’t know what woke him up exactly, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with the ship, but there was definitely something.

Mooncake woke up and looked around groggily. “Chookity?”

“I dunno,” Gary said slowly, “I could’ve sworn…” A shuffling outside his door grabbed his attention. “What the crap is that?” He got out of bed to investigate, straining to hear what or who was on the other side of the door.

“It’s not that hard, just open the door,” a familiar voice muttered, “Gary won’t mind, you know he won’t mind, just knock or something.” After a brief moment of silence the voice said, “No, no, no, this is stupid. What were you thinking?” The sound of receding footsteps made Gary open the door.

“Little Cato?”

The Ventrexian whirled around. “Gary? Oh no, did I wake you up? I didn’t mean to-”

Gary held up a hand. “It’s okay, kid, really.” He noticed Little Cato fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Little Cato answered. “I just… I had a…” He glanced away, looking embarrassed. “I-I had…”

Realization dawned on Gary. “Nightmare?” Little Cato nodded, still not making eye contact. “Don’t be embarrassed about being scared of a nightmare, kid. It happens to the best of us.” He nodded to his room. “Come on in, okay? You can stay with me for tonight.”

Little Cato looked relieved as he walked into Gary’s room, if a little hesitant. Mooncake nudged him affectionately and Little Cato gave him a pat in return. “I wasn’t really scared of the nightmare, I’m pretty used to those, it was just…”

“Just what?” Gary asked. “What’s got you so freaked out, Spider-Cat?”

The kid took a shuddering breath. “Being alone?” He choked out a laugh. “I know it’s probably stupid but… after that time shard, I just can’t stand being alone.” He hugged himself and continued, “And usually I can manage the bad dreams by myself, but lately being by myself is just really scary and I know that’s dumb but-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey.” Gary gently ushered Little Cato to the bed while Mooncake circled them worriedly. “It’s alright, bud, just sit down and relax.” Little Cato complied, but he was still hugging himself like he might fall apart if he let go. “Being scared is not stupid. And not wanting to be by yourself isn’t dumb.”

Little Cato looked unconvinced. “But I should be able to handle it. And I can’t handle it.” He buried his face in his hands. “And now I’ve woken you up and you’re probably super tired. Way to go, me.”

“Would you stop with that?” Gary frowned. “How many times do I have to tell you? You will never be an inconvenience to me. I don’t care if it’s six in the evening or two in the morning, you can come talk to me whenever.”

The kid fell silent, which Gary took a sign that he understood. Mooncake settled in Little Cato’s lap and made comforting planet-destroying-super-weapon sounds.

“Getting help when you’re upset isn’t stupid. I can’t pretend I know what’s going on in that head of yours,” Gary said gently, “I don’t think I could imagine dealing with even half of what you’ve gone through. Adults would lose their minds over this kind of stuff.”

Little Cato narrowed his eyes. “I did lose my mind, Gary.” The words were heavy with the years of loneliness. “I mean I really lost it in there. I thought coming back would be like a reset button, but it’s all still there.”

“Spider-Cat?”

“It all just keeps coming back and it won’t stop.” Little Cato’s eyes welled with tears. “I want to stop but it keeps coming back over and over again and I can’t make it stop I can’t-”

Gary wrapped his arms around Little Cato and pulled him close. “Hey… it’s okay, buddy.”

Little Cato clung to Gary’s shirt and sobbed into his shoulder. “It won’t stop… Why won’t it stop? It won’t go away…”

“I know,” Gary said, “I‘m so sorry, Little Cato.”

Mooncake sat between them, nuzzling into Little Cato and humming. Gary ran his right hand through Little Cato’s spiked hair and whispered quietly to him as he cried.

God, he didn’t know how to do this. Little Cato had literally lived a whole life alone, of course being on his own–even for a little bit–would be absolutely crippling, but how was he supposed to help? Nightmares he could deal with, but this?

This was a whole other level of trauma.

Eventually he pushed the thought aside and focused on the crying child in his lap. He wasn’t gonna figure out a way to make all of Little Cato’s problems go away in one night because you can’t just fix problems like this. Nightmares would be much easier to deal with if you could punch them.

But since he couldn’t make the problems disappear, he chose to sit with Little Cato and be the support he needed. And if that meant sitting up all night rubbing small circles in the small of Little Cato’s back while he cried, then that’s what he was going to do.

And maybe when Little Cato fell back asleep, he might finally have a good dream.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How about where Little Cato and Gary get into a fight and now Little Cato feels bad and thinks he’s a terrible son to him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hoo boy I’ve already thought about this one a LOT, I’m stoked to write this.

Little Cato tapped his foot anxiously, waiting for Gary to return. “HUE, how long has it been?”

 _‘It’s only been nine minutes,’_ HUE replied, _‘You still have six minutes before you are allowed to go in after Gary and Nightfall.’_

Groaning, Little Cato leaned back in his chair. “This is taking too long! What if something happened to them?”

“I’m sure nothing bad happened,” Fox said, “Gary and Nightfall just went in to investigate a lead. They’ll be back in fifteen minutes, just like they said.”

Ash nodded in agreement. “And even if something _does_ go wrong, I bet they could handle it.”

“Yeah, but what if they _can’t?”_ Little Cato asked. “What if something happened to them? What if there’s more bounty hunters after Gary? What if-” The familiar sound of gunfire made Little Cato’s jump out of the chair. “I knew it!”

He darted past Fox and Ash to his room. He grabbed his blaster and turned to leave, but Fox blocked the door. “Gary said fifteen minutes. We still five more.”

“Get out of my way,” Little Cato warned.

Fox shook his head. “No way, Ventrexian.”

Little Cato growled and leapt at Fox, effectively catching the Trvuulian by surprise. He probably didn’t expect Little Cato to actually try to get past him. He slipped out of the room while Fox was off balance only to find Ash waiting for him.

She didn’t look like she was actively trying to block his path, but she _was_ trying to talk him down. “I don’t think you should go down there, Little Cato. Gary said-”

“I’m not losing him again,” Little Cato growled. “I’m not losing anyone else.” He shouldered his way past Ash and slammed the button to open the door.”

HUE tottered after him. _‘Gary explicitly told you-’_

“I don’t care!” Little Cato shouted as he ran down the ramp. “I’m going!”

As soon as his feet hit the ground, he was full on sprinting. The building looked like it was being lit up from the inside from the sheer amount of blaster fire.

He kicked open the door and looked around frantically. “Gary! Nightfall!” A couple of thugs looked his way and started firing. Little Cato evaded them easily enough, but he still couldn’t see the people he was looking for.

“Gary, where are you?! Nightfall?! Can either of you hear me?!” He dove behind a pillar and fired at the nearest targets. He let himself slip into autopilot, ducking and weaving through the fight, shooting everything that looked even remotely like a threat.

It wasn’t until he felt a hand on his shoulder that he felt relief wash over him. “Gary!” The man didn’t respond, he simply grabbed Little Cato by the hand and pulled him toward the exit. Little Cato grinned and fired at anything that stood in their path on their way out.

Even though they were still surrounded by bad guys and gunfire, Little Cato felt a rush running alongside Gary. _This_ is what he was meant to do, fighting against all odds is what he was _made_ for. He only wished Avocato could have been there to see them.

HUE was standing right where Little Cato had left him, the door still standing open for Gary, Nightfall, and Little Cato to jump through. “Let’s go!” Nightfall shouted as the door closed behind them.

Everyone held their breath until they cleared the atmosphere and were sure they weren’t being followed off planet.

Little Cato pumped his fists in the air victoriously once they were in the clear. “Whoo! Gary that was _awesome!”_ He waved his arms around excitedly, gun still in his hand. “We totally kicked butt back there, did you see-”

His blaster was suddenly torn from his hand. “What the _hell_ did you think you were doing?!”

 _Gary_ and _angry_ didn’t really compute. So it took Little Cato a moment to process the question before he finally managed, “What do you mean? I was _helping_.”

“I told you to stay on the ship,” Gary said. “And I told you that if Nightfall and I weren’t back in fifteen minutes, _then_ you could come after us.”

Little Cato felt heat rising to his face. He felt embarrassed. No, worse, he felt _ashamed_. But he had _no_ idea why. What did he do wrong? “There was gunfire! What did you want me to do? Just _sit_ there?”

“Yes!” Gary exclaimed. “That’s _exactly_ what I wanted you to do!”

“But that’s stupid!” Little Cato protested. “What if you had gotten hurt? Or worse?!” He felt sick. He had never yelled at Gary before. Gary had never yelled at him before. Were they _fighting_? Was this a _fight_?

He couldn’t seriously be fighting Gary… could he?

“Doing what you’re told is not stupid,” Gary said, “And you better _watch_ it with that tone.”

Little Cato blinked in confusion. “You… are you _serious_?” Do what he was told? Even if that meant Gary got hurt? There was noway in hell. “What if you had gotten shot again?!”

“That’s not the point.”

“But that _is_ the point,” Little Cato insisted, “It’s _my_ point! I know you think I should’ve listened, but-”

“Nightfall and I had the situation under control,” Gary interrupted, “We were on our way _out_ , but then you burst in, so we had to get you first. If you had just waited, we could have been long gone by now” Little Cato couldn’t look Gary in the eyes. He looked so angry. It made him feel agitated and scared at the same time. “I’m your guardian now. And if I say you stay on the ship then you stay on the ship.”

Little Cato felt an unreasonable anger of his own start rising in his chest. “I’ll do what I think is _right_ ,” he snapped in response, “Whether _you_ think it’s the right decision or not.”

“That’s not for you to decide.” Gary said. “And as of this moment. You are _not_ allowed to set foot off this ship.”

His gaze finally snapping up to Gary, Little Cato exclaimed, “What?! You can’t do that!”

“Gary,” Nightfall interjected.

“AVA.” Gary held Little Cato’s gaze almost challengingly, as if daring the teen to speak out again. “Little Cato isn’t allowed off the ship until I say so. Don’t open _any_ doors that lead outside for him.”

_‘Understood.’_

Little Cato’s anger finally reached a breaking point. He was too angry to even argue anymore, he just turned and ran. It probably wasn’t the best decision, but he didn’t dare stop.

How could Gary _do_ that? All he had done was try to help! Was that really so wrong?

The nearest accessible vent was just a couple hallways down and he ran all the way there. He nearly bent the frame prying it off the wall, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

He slammed the vent back in place and retreated to the nook he had made for himself in the walls and tried to catch his breath. It wasn’t as good as the one he had back on the Galaxy One, but it served its purpose: letting Little Cato be alone.

“So trying to save my father is wrong now? Is that it?” Little Cato paced angrily. “What did I do?! I thought we were _supposed_ to be looking after each other. I told Gary not to follow _me_ when I ran away, and he did anyway! Why is this so different?”

Little Cato sat on the floor and hugged his knees to his chest, the anger starting to ebb away. “I don’t get it. Why _don’t_ I get it?”

The longer he thought about it, the more he thought that maybe the problem really _was_ about him and not Gary. He and Gary and never fought before, and the only thing that changed was that he had been adopted.

Really the only thing that changed was… “I’m his son,” Little Cato realized. “And I… I mean, I don’t get why he’s so mad. I don’t get what I did wrong so maybe…” He felt his stomach drop through the floor of the ship. “Maybe I’m just… am I a _bad_ son?”

The empty vents didn’t have an answer for him, but the question still rang in the silence like the world’s most vicious echo.

Little Cato rested his forehead against his pulled up legs. “No, no, no, _no_ … Gary is trying so hard to make this work, and I just…” He fought back tears and hugged his knees tighter to his chest. “I am _such_ an idiot…”

A similar statement was being shouted in a different part of the ship. As soon as Little Cato had left, Gary had deflated, absolutely exhausted from his fight with Little Cato. “Okay, I knew I wasn’t going to be emotionally prepared to ground the kid,” he admitted, “But I didn’t expect it to be _that_ bad.”

Nightfall smacked him in the back of the head, catching him by surprise. “You’re an idiot!”

Gary rubbed the spot she had hit. “What? What are you-”

“Shut up for a second and listen.” Nightfall gestured to the door Little Cato had ran out of. “Do you have _any_ idea what this must have looked like to him? Did you even _try_ to see this from his point of view?”

“Uh, no?” Gary said in confusion. “I told him to stay on the ship and he didn’t listen. That was kind of the whole point.”

“No, that was kind of _your_ whole point,” Nightfall corrected. “But _his_ whole point was that he was out of his mind with worry, probably driving himself up the wall waiting for you, and then suddenly there was gunfire.”

Gary felt like he was missing something. “But we had it under control.”

Nightfall crossed her arms. “Did Little Cato know that?”

“Well, no, but-”

“Look, I’m not saying he was right to disobey you,” Nightfall said, “I’m just saying look at this from his perspective for just a second.”

Gary gave up. “Fine, Nightfall, what’s Little Cato’s perspective on this?” He asked, getting tired of beating around the bush. “What’s the big point that I’m missing here?”

“He doesn’t want to lose his father again, Gary!” Nightfall shouted. “And you of all people should get that!”

The words rang in the room, leaving Gary speechless. He had kind of assumed the kid jumped off the ship just to join in the fight, but he hadn’t really considered the kid had joined the fight for _him_.

“Oh my crap…” Gary said in disbelief. “You’re right. I’m an idiot.”

Nightfall rolled her eyes. “Great job.” She brushed past him on the way out the door. “I’m done helping you parent for the day. Go find your kid.”

Gary already knew where to find him. It was the same place he always went when he wanted to be alone. He walked out of the room and tried to do a mental recap of the ships layout. Where were the vents on this thing? And which one was closest?

He was thinking so hard that he didn’t notice the orange blur until it plowed into him. “Whoa!”

“I’m sorry,” a muffled voice cried, “I don’t know what I did wrong, and I don’t know what I have to do to fix it, but I _want_ to be a better son and I promise I’m trying and-”

Gary put his hands on Little Cato’s shoulders and gently pushed him back. “Slow down, kid. What’s this about being a bad son?”

Little Cato gazed up at him, eyes shining with unshed tears. “I just… you’re trying _so_ hard to be a good dad–and you _are_ a great dad, and you’re doing everything right.” He scrubbed at his eyes. “But I think I just did everything _wrong_ and I don’t know if I can fix it.”

“Hey, I _so_ did not do everything right,” Gary said firmly. “Nightfall chewed me out for the way I just acted.” Little Cato glanced up at him, looking surprised and confused. “She told me I wasn’t listening to you. And she was right. I didn’t listen to what you had to say, and that wasn’t real fair of me.

“You’re a good kid, Spider-Cat, and a _great_ son.” Gary ruffled his hair. “I get that you only came after me because you were worried. And you have a completely justified reason for being worried, but that doesn’t mean you get to act on every single impulse you have. That’s a surefire way to get yourself into a lot of trouble. Trust me.”

Little Cato nodded, wiping away the last of his tears. “Right. I think I get it.” He twisted the hem of his yellow sweater nervously. “And you’re _really_ sure I’m not a bad son?”

Gary smiled. “Look, we’re _both_ new to this. It’s gonna take a hot second for me to get used to parenting, just like it’s going to take you a little while to relearn living with a parent.

“But we’ll figure it out,” Gary reassured him. “One way or another.”

Little Cato returned the smile tentatively. “Okay. I think I can handle that.”

“Good.” Gary pulled the kid in for a hug.

This was better. This was _so_ much better than how they had left things a few minutes ago. Listening, not fighting. Gary was going to have to thank Nightfall for that later. But as for right now…

“By the way, you _are_ still grounded.”

“Yeah, I figured.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y’ALL SOMEBODY REQUESTED THIS, BUT I CAN’T FIND THE ASK. IT WAS ANONYMOUS, SO I DON’T KNOW WHO SENT IN THIS PROMPT, BUT HERE IT IS. ANON, IF YOU’RE OUT THERE, I HOPE YOU SEE THIS.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, basically the prompt was Little Cato roasting Sheryl after the events of the last episode and honestly? Yes. Light this bitch up, kiddo.

Sheryl raised an eyebrow at the small alien outside the bars. KVN was grinding on her nerves like nothing she had ever known, but this kid was starting to peak her interest. He had just been leaning against the opposite wall staring into her cell intently, like he was studying her.

She knew he was Ventrexian, and she knew from her last visit that he and Gary were close, but she didn’t know why. “Can I help ya, kid? Or are you just going to stand out there and gawk at me all day?”

He shook his head slowly. “I don’t get it.”

“Don’t get what?” KVN asked. “What don’tcha get, Little Cato?” The Ventrexian pushed the robot away.

Sheryl snorted. “Little Cato? What kind of name is that?”

Little Cato shrugged. “The one my father gave me.” He paused to shove KVN away again, who just kept drifting closer. “And I don’t get how a guy like Gary could have _possibly_ come from…” He looked her up and down. _“That.”_

“Oh, come off it,” Sheryl said. “I had my reasons for doing what I did.”

“I don’t doubt that you had reasons,” Little Cato agreed. “I just don’t believe that there’s a _single_ good one.”

Sheryl smirked. “Oh what a surprise. The child can’t understand the complicated thought process of an adult.”

Little Cato rolled his eyes. “I’m seventy-four years old.” Admittedly that one was a surprise, but she didn’t have much time to think on it. “If there’s one person on this ship who would be able to understand a crazy adult, it’s me.

“So it’s not that I don’t understand you because I’m young and immature…” Little Cato crossed his arms. “You’re just _really_ stupid.”

Sheryl was annoyed to say the least. Where did this kid get off telling her about her life? “Stupid, eh? Well, enlighten me, wise Ventrexian. Tell me just how _stupid_ I am.”

“Oh, gladly.” Little Cato started pacing back and forth across her cell. “You teamed up with Todd Watson, a certified lunatic in a costume. We were _all_ looking for the keys. You could have stayed with us, and Gary would have let you! Because that’s the kind of person Gary is.

“That day we found you, Gary was _planning_ on leaving you for dead, just like you left him,” Little Cato said, “But he didn’t.” He gestured in a vague direction. “And back there? On that disintegrating planet? He had _every_ right to leave you there. He literally had _no_ reason to bring you back. But he did.”

Sheryl rested her elbows on her knees and leaned forward. “Well, that kind of makes him an idiot, don’t it? Bring the person trying to kill him on board?”

“No,” Little Cato snapped, “That makes him _compassionate._ That’s something you wouldn’t understand.”

The kid wasn’t wrong. She wasn’t compassionate in the slightest. In fact, the only good in her life was John. Any kindness she knew had came from him. She wasn’t going to deny that she was terrible person, she owned it.

So why did that sting so much?

“I know you’re trying to find Gary’s father,” Little Cato’s tone seemed to have softened, but he was still pacing at a clearly agitated pace. “But that doesn’t give you an excuse.”

Sheryl scowled. “What do you know, eh? You don’t know what it’s like to risk everything for someone you love.”

Little Cato stopped pacing. “Actually, I _do.”_ Sheryl blinked in surprise at the sudden seriousness. “My father had _orders_ to kill me.” His hostile gaze turned to Sheryl. “You get that? He was _ordered_ to do it.”

“Ordered? By who?” Sheryl asked.

“The Lord Commander. My father was his _second-in-command._ It would have cost you absolutely nothing to _not_ try and kill Gary. Not killing _me_ almost cost my father his _life_ , and he _still_ didn’t.” Little Cato narrowed his eyes. “So what’s your excuse?”

Sheryl fell silent, unable to think of a retort. She prided herself on her quick wit, but she truly had no response, not for this.

Little Cato sighed. “That’s what I thought.” He away. “You wanna know something, Sheryl?”

“I have a feeling your gonna tell me even if I say no.”

“I would give _anything_ to have something of my father. Even if it was something small.” Little Cato paused for a moment. “You were so caught up in trying to get back what you lost that you forgot you had a piece of John _right there…_ and you tried to kill him.”

Sheryl watched him walk away, trying to shove down the surge of emotion that welled up inside her. Damn that kid! He was going to be the first person she killed when she got out of this cell.

“Hey Sheryl,” KVN floated in front of her cell. “Hey Sheryl. Sheryl? Sheryl. Sheryl! Hey. Hey, hey, hey! Wanna play a game, Sheryl? Sheryl? Hey Sheryl, can you hear me?”

Okay, make that the _second_ person she killed. She was going to destroy _that_ abomination first.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I absolutely love the friendship between Little Cato and Fox! You're writing is also amazing and so emotional. Is there any chance of placing a requests for the head canon where Fox helps Little Cato with nightmares/PTSD?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, an excuse to write about Fox and Little Cato? I’ll 100% take that request!

When Fox woke up to the sound of someone crying, he was understandably confused. His barely-awake brain was barely registering that the sound was coming from right above him. Meaning… “Little Cato?”

But that almost didn’t seem right, because Little Cato, like, _never_ cried. At least, not that he had seen. He was usually so upbeat, ready to take on anything. This was… concerning.

If you asked anyone on the ship, they would say Fox wasn’t fond of sharing a room with the wily teen. But he and Little Cato both knew that all their bickering was mostly for show or done out of boredom.

Another muffled sound made him roll out of his bed and peer into the top bunk. Fox knew it couldn’t be as bad as one of Ash’s fits. At least Little Cato couldn’t shoot fire or lasers or magic or plasma or whatever it was Ash could do.

But still, he had to think about the best way to approach the situation. Little Cato was almost completely still, only occasionally twitching or kicking at his blanket. Mostly, he just seemed to be trying to bury himself in his pillow, gripping the fabric case and tugging it restlessly.

He decided to just reach out and shake Little Cato’s shoulder to wake him up. “Hey, dude. You gotta wake up, okay?”

Little Cato’s arm jerked violently. “No, no, no… I- stop…” Tears fell from the corners of his eyes, dampening his fur. “I didn’t… I…”

Fox frowned. “Oh boy, this ain’t gonna be a good time.” He tried three more times to shake Little Cato awake. After the third shake is when the thrashing started. He barely managed to pull back before one of Little Cato’s fists struck him in the face. “Whoa! _Hey!”_

The Ventrexian bolted upright, his eyes snapping to Fox. “Get away from me,” he rasped.

“What?”

Little Cato launched himself out of bed, knocking Fox back into the wall. “I said _get away!”_ Fox barely had time to regain his balance before Little Cato ran at him again. Their room wasn’t big enough for a fight, and Fox was having a hard time dodging.

“Little Cato, snap out of it!” Fox shouted. Little Cato hurled himself forward but Fox managed to step out of the way, sending Little Cato skidding across the floor, as he clawed the metal to slow his slide.

Eyes wild and unfocused, Little Cato glared up at him. “I’m gonna kill you,” he growled, “I’m gonna kill you and get back to my father. You won’t stop me.” He slowly stood, positioning himself in a proper fighting stance rather than mindlessly pouncing. “I _will_ escape. Do you hear me?! One way or another, _I_ _will get out!”_

Fox was too tired and too confused to understand anything Little Cato was saying. Get back to his father? Kill him? Escape?

Unsure of what he was doing or if it was even going to work, he waited for Little Cato to run at him again, letting the collision happen. Then he wrapped his arms around Little Cato to keep him still while he figured out what to do. “Wake up, Ventrexian!” He was barely able to hold the struggling teen. Little Cato was a lot stronger than he looked. “It’s just a _dream_.”

“Let _go_ of me!” Little Cato shouted, still lashing out. _“Let go!”_

“Whoa, easy!” Fox sat on the floor to hold Little Cato still. “It’s just me, Little Cato, it’s Fox.” He pulled Little Cato closer to him, keeping a firm grip and hoping he snapped out of whatever this was soon.

Eventually Little Cato woke up, gasping for air, chest heaving. “What? Where is- he was…”

“Hey, Ventrexian,” Fox said, “It’s just me.” Little Cato still struggled to catch his breath, digging his claws into his arms.

“I can’t breathe,” he managed. “I… I can’t-

Fox still wasn’t really sure what any of this was about but, whatever it was, it was intense and it was _bad_ and Little Cato needed help. “Listen to my voice, Little Cato. Focus on that.”

“But- I’m… I-I don’t…”

“Shhh…” Fox held Little Cato with his right arm so that his left hand could reach the top of Little Cato’s head. It had always comforted Ash to have her hair played with when she was stressed, and he figured it would hurt to try it with Little Cato.

But Little Cato immediately started trying to pull away. “No, get off me! Stop it! Stop!”

Fox pet Little Cato soothingly. “Quit fighting, you’re not in danger. Everything’s okay, I promise. Just breathe, alright? Think you can do that?”

“I…” Little Cato took a short stuttering breath. “No. I-I can’t. I can’t do it.”

“Yes you can,” Fox said.

Little Cato clung to Fox’s shirt. “I can’t. I can’t breathe, I can’t… I…”

Fox continued to run his hand through Little Cato’s fur. “Slow down. Relax, and just breathe.” Little Cato took a few more short breaths before he managed a proper inhale. After a few more deep breaths, Little Cato seemed to be marginally calmer, but was still shaking like a leaf.

“Fox,” Little Cato whispered after a while, “Y-you can go back to bed.” He started to pull away. “I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t think so, Ventrexian.” Fox could still feel Little Cato trembling. There was no way he was letting Little Cato just walk away from this.

Little Cato closed his eyes. “But why are you… I don’t get… why-”

“Why am I helping?” Little Cato nodded. “Everybody needs a little help sometimes. Even you.” He let Little Cato out of his confining hold, but still kept his left hand firmly on the Ventrexian’s arm, just in case he tried to bolt. “So you wanna talk about it?”

There was a long pause. “No.”

“You sure?”

“Look, it’s just…” Little Cato hesitated. “It’s just a lot of… stuff, okay? A lot of stuff that’s not worth getting into right now. Or ever.” He shook his head. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Fox wanted to keep prying, but he knew Little Cato wouldn’t open up, he just wasn’t the type. As far as he could tell, the only one that really knew anything about Little Cato was Gary. “So that’s it then? You’re just gonna go back to bed?”

Little Cato glanced away. “Yeah… I guess I am.” He rubbed his eyes. “And I’m sorry I woke you up, Fox. I don’t usually wake people up when I have nightmares, I don’t know why it-”

“How often do you _get_ nightmares, Little Cato?” His roommate tensed. “Little Cato…”

“Almost… almost every night,” Little Cato admitted. “I told you, there’s a _lot_ of stuff.” He shook his head. “I don’t want to keep you up anymore, okay?” He pushed himself out of Fox’s grip and stood. “You can make fun of me all you want tomorrow about how much of a crybaby I am or whatever, okay? But I’m way too tired for that right now.”

Fox stood and put a hand on Little Cato’s shoulder. “You really think I’d-”

Little Cato shrugged him off and started to climb the ladder. “I don’t know, dude! Maybe!” He laughed bitterly. “Or maybe you’ll just tell everyone else. I bet KVN would get a real kick out of it.”

“I ain’t gonna tell anyone.”

He stopped halfway up the ladder and turned to face Fox. They were almost eye to eye at this height. “Why not? You don’t have a problem calling me a ‘stupid little Ventrexian’ in front of everyone.”

“I think you and I both know that our bickering don’t mean much’.”

Little Cato sighed. “Yeah… yeah, I know.” He ran a hand over his face. “A-and I know you probably _wouldn’t_ tell anyone, it’s just… I don’t know, okay?” His arm dropped to his side. “I’m sorry, Fox. I’ll just-”

“Do you wanna play cards or something?”

“I… what?” Little Cato tipped his head uncertainly. “Is… are you joking?”

Fox shook his head. “No. I’m dead serious. Last thing we need is you having another panic attack or hallucination or _whatever_ that was.”

Little Cato looked confused. “What? I mean, no. Why would I-? Why would you-?”

He swiftly scooped Little Cato off the ladder and set him on the floor. “Look, either we go play cards, or I stand here and pester you until you tell me what caused whatever the _hell_ that was.”

“Fox, I-”

“No arguing,” Fox said firmly. “You’re having a rough night. You’re stressed, and I don’t want you to get hurt. So you’re gonna play cards with me and that’s final, Ventrexian.” He walked past Little Cato and opened the door. “Now come on, before I drag you there myself.”

For a moment, Little Cato didn’t move. Then heard a very quiet laugh. “Alright,” Little Cato finally managed, “I guess a game or two wouldn’t hurt.” He followed Fox out the door and helped search for one of Gary’s many decks of cards. There was no telling where the guy kept getting them from, but he seemed to have an endless supply.

But no matter how many rounds they played, the whole incident still kept bugging Fox. Little Cato seemed fine now. Like he _hadn’t_ just been hyperventilating in the floor just minutes before.

Dealing with Little Cato was like trying to solve a riddle written in a completely different language. Fox didn’t know the extent of everything Little Cato had been through, and after what he had just seen, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know.

And yet, somehow, Little Cato got up every morning and smiled and laughed and sang ridiculously songs with Gary, like nothing bad had ever even happened.

The kid went into every fight with a crazy amount of optimism, insisting that everything was going to be _good_ and he was going to do _so good_ and there just no telling _just how good_ everything would be after they won.

Even though time and time again, Little Cato had done nothing but _lose_.

You wouldn’t be able to tell Little Cato was tearing himself up from the inside just by looking at him. But between the nightmares and the insistence that he didn’t need help, Fox was starting to wonder if maybe Little Cato was a little closer to breaking than he let on.

So, Fox decided he was going to do everything he could to make sure that Little Cato didn’t drive himself off the deep-end, since the Ventrexian _clearly_ wouldn’t do it himself.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sad one-shot idea incoming :( After putting Sheryl in her “cell”, Gary starts getting really REALLY sad and ends up starting to miss his dad IMMENSELY and then locks himself up in his room and starts drinking a lot while the rest of the crew is worried sick about him as he won’t open the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> angst angst angst angst angst angst yes!

As happy as it made Gary to leave Sheryl alone with KVN, there was a piece of him that regretted not sticking to Nightfall’s plan. A couple of hours ago, he might not have had a problem killing her. In fact, he _knew_ he wouldn’t have had a problem killing her.

If the choice was her or Quinn, he’d choose Quinn every time.

But he hadn’t considered the fact that he could do both. It wasn’t until he saw Sheryl crying– _genuinely_ _upset_ –that he realized he didn’t necessarily have to choose. Keeping his mother contained on the ship? Why hadn’t he thought of that first? It’s what he did with Avocato.

It bothered him that killing his mother was the first solution he thought of. Did it really matter that he didn’t or couldn’t follow through? Wasn’t just considering it bad enough?

What would his father think of him? The _less_ rational part of him worried his father would never forgive him for considering something like that. But the more rational part of him knew that his father would be proud he made the right decision and didn’t follow through.

A few words of encouragement would have been fantastic, actually. And his dad had always been pretty good at that. As if his day wasn’t emotional enough, now he missed his friggin’ father. Awesome.

God, he needed a drink. It’d been a long few days. Weeks. _Months_ , really.

Luckily, he knew Clarence had kept a stash of it back when he was still on the ship. And since he was no longer welcome on the Crimson Light (or _anywhere_ near his family _ever_ ) Gary figured the con man probably wouldn’t miss it all that much.

It’d been a while since he drank anything. He had a shot with Quinn when they went to New York, but other than that, it’d been about five years since he’d had a proper drink. He was going to have to fix that.

And that night was as good a day as any.

He successfully grabbed a couple of bottles from Clarence’s room and snuck them back to his room. In hindsight, maybe he should have grabbed a cup, but he figured it wouldn’t really matter. There wasn’t anyone else to drink with.

Just him and a couple of bottles. What an evening.

Things didn’t start out so bad. Sure, everything got a little hazy, but other than that he was fine. He couldn’t even remember what he was upset about really. And that was a good thing, right?

Unless it was something important? He hadn’t forgotten anything important, had he? Was he upset about something important? Something about…

His dad.

Oh yeah.

Gary tried to recall some good memories with his dad to distract himself, but he was way too tired and way too drunk. Mostly, he was just sad. Why the hell was he so sad? Wasn’t he drinking to not be sad? Or was he getting drunk to forget?

Either way, the drinking was definitely happening.

The happy part didn’t seem to be happening though. And neither did the forgetting. The more he looked at the bottle of alcohol he was holding, the more he thought about his dad…

And his mom.

Specifically everything that had happened in his younger years. How did his dad ever find it in himself to love her? She was so miserable all the time.

And of course she drank when she was miserable. Which made her more miserable. A vicious cycle, really. Gary didn’t understand why anyone would-

… wait.

“Ohhhhh _nooooooo_ ,” Gary groaned, “I’m doin’ th’ same thing _she_ did!” He flopped back onto the bed. “This night… is soooo not my night.”

And that was how Gary spiraled into his own little personal void of misery. His father would be so disappointed in him if he ever found out he had resorted to alcohol like this. He wasn’t an _addict_ , obviously, because he hadn’t really drank in five years. But even turning to alcohol just for one night was bad enough.

There was work to be done. There was a mission to finish. There was a _planet_ to save, and Gary decided it would be a good idea to get drunk? Boy oh boy, another great decision from Gary Goodspeed the Loser of Planets.

He took another swig instinctively, and pretty much immediately regretted it. Why would he keep doing this to himself? It wasn’t going to make things better.

But it gave him something else to blame. If he was miserable because of the alcohol, then he wouldn’t have to miserable about his father or his mom or Quinn or Avocato or the Earth or the endless cycle of bullshit that kept happening all around him.

And with every sip, more of all the bullshit faded away. So why not drink a little more? Why not drink until he forgot? Let the bullshit be bullshit some other day, he was allowed to have a break for just one night.

So why did he keep on crying?

The crying didn’t go unheard, either. Exhausted as everyone was, there was still a high amount of tension on the ship. Fox and Ash were in the medbay, making sure all of Fox’s mechanical life supports were functioning alright, and Nightfall was with them to make sure nothing went wrong.

But Little Cato was wandering the halls. He usually spent his down time with Gary, but he was nowhere to be found. So Little Cato thought maybe he oughta check Gary’s room, see how the guy was holding up after everything that happened.

He could some shuffling sounds coming from Gary’s room as he approached, meaning he was in there. That was the good part.

The not so good part was that it also sounded like he was crying.

“Thunder Bandit?” Little Cato knocked but Gary wouldn’t answer. “Gary, open up.” He tried to get the door open but it wouldn’t budge. Gary must have locked it. “Come on, man, I just wanna talk.”

When he still didn’t get an answer, Little Cato sighed and stepped away from the door. “AVA. Can you open his door?”

 _“That’s an invasion of privacy, Little Cato,”_ AVA reminded him, _“I’ll open it, but if he’s mad, that’s on you.”_

“Yeah yeah, whatever,” Little Cato said, “Just let me go check on him.” The door slid open and Little Cato entered cautiously. “Gary?”

He flicked on the light and was immediately met with protesting. “Turn it _ooooooff_.” Gary rolled over and buried his face in his pillow. “Hurts m’eyes.”

Little Cato was kind of confused. “Gary, are you… doing okay?”

Gary suddenly gasped and sat up. “Spider-Man!” He wobbled a little as he stood up. “How’re you doing, kid?”

“Uh… I’m not…” Little Cato didn’t even know who this Spider-Man was. “Did you mean Spider-Cat?”

Gary snorted. “Probably.” He reached out and ruffled Little Cato’s hair. “What’re _you_ doin’ in m’room? I lock- uh… I’m _pretty_ sure I locked the door.”

“I asked AVA to open it.” Little Cato pushed Gary’s hand off his head. “Normally he didn’t mind, but Gary seemed really out of it. The behavior was almost kind of familiar. He just couldn’t place it… “I heard you crying and wanted to check on you.”

His father gasped. “ _Awwwwwww_ , you’re so _sweet_.” He ruffled Little Cato’s hair again. “You’re a… you’re just, like, a _really_ good kid.”

Little Cato smiled awkwardly. “Well, thanks, I-I think.” He looked around the room to try and figure out what the heck could be making Gary act like this. Was he tired? Upset about his mom?

Then he saw them. Two bottles sitting beside Gary’s bed. Gary wasn’t tired.

He was drunk.

Little Cato pushed past Gary and grabbed one of the bottles, holding it up. “What are you doing with these?” he demanded.

Gary tilted his head. “Uh… drinking them?”

“You _know_ what I mean.” Little Cato the second one. It was almost empty, maybe an inch or so of liquid swirling at the bottom. “Gary, we’re on a mission. You really think now is a good time to be getting drunk?”

“Who cares?”

“I care!” Little Cato shouted. “Do you know how many soldiers I’ve seen get _wasted_ before an assignment and then _not_ come back? What we’re doing is important. You can’t just- you-” He sighed. “Never mind. You’re probably only hearing every third word I say.”

Gary giggled. “Wha-ha-hat?”

“Exactly,” Little Cato muttered. He set the bottles back down and tried to think of what to do. Nightfall would probably smack Gary if she found out he got drunk. And honestly Little Cato was seriously considering it himself.

Two arms wrapped around him and pulled him off the ground. “Y’know what? I’m _glad_ you’re here, Spider-Man.”

“Spider- _Cat_ ,” he corrected, “Or just call me Little Cato if it’s really _that_ confusing.”

“I was _reeeeaaaally_ sad before you came to check on me,” Gary continued as if he hadn’t heard, “Then you showed up and now I feel- I’m… I’m feeling a _lot_ better.”

Little Cato squirmed out of Gary’s grasp and smoothed out his sweater. “What were you so upset about?”

“Don’t remember,” Gary admitted, “Somethin’ about my dad, I think.”

Well, it certainly explained a few things. Little Cato felt the initial anger ebb away, but he was still a little frustrated with his guardian. “Alright, just… don’t drink anymore.” He looked Gary up and down. “And you should probably, like, lay down or something.”

“Mmmmmm’kay.” Gary threw himself onto the bed unceremoniously. “I feel like _shiiiiiiit_ ,” He scrubbed at his eyes. “Oh my dad would _kill_ me if he saw me like this.”

“No he wouldn’t,” Little Cato said.

Gary laughed. “Yeah, no he wouldn’t.” The drunken smile fell away from his face. “I miss him.”

Little Cato felt a tug of sympathy. As much as he didn’t like the idea of Gary drinking, he knew how it felt to lose a father. “Yeah… I get that.”

That made Gary bolt upright and roll out of bed. “Oh my _crap!”_ He fell face first on the floor, and scrambled to stand. “I’m so sorry!”

“What are-” He was interrupted by Gary scooping him up for the second time. “Dude, _dude!”_

Gary patted his head, bawling his eyes out. “I didn’t even think about- and you… _awwwwww_ and _Avocato_.” He sniffed and hugged Little Cato tighter. “I’m such a bad influence. I’m a _very very_ bad influence.”

Little Cato once again pried himself from Gary. “Look, man, it’s fine! It’s fine.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Gary put his hands on Little Cato’s shoulders. “Because we can- we can talk about our feelings.”

“No, I think you need some sleep.” Little Cato gently pushed Gary back towards his bed. “Just go back to bed, seriously. We can talk in the morning.”

Gary nodded. “Okay.”

Little Cato picked up the bottles as Gary laid back down. “You know, you probably should have used these to celebrate with Nightfall instead getting drunk and miserable all by yourself.”

“Celebrate?” Gary frowned.

“Yeah,” Little Cato said, “Celebrating. We got the Dimensional Keys, Gary. We got them back from your mom, we _won_ this time. Your dad would be really-”

He stopped, realizing his moron of a father had fallen asleep at some point while he was talking. “You son of a-” Resisting the urge to hit Gary over the head with his pillow, he turned around and walked away, taking the two bottles with him.

His father was a clueless idiot, but drunk he was even more of a clueless idiot.

Clueless idiot or not, Gary was still his father. And while he couldn’t necessarily give him a lecture on the ethics of drinking on a dangerous mission, Nightfall definitely could, so the first thing he was going to do was tell her.

Right after he got rid of the alcohol.

Did this stuff really even help people? It just seemed to make things worse, as far as Little Cato could tell. What was the appeal? Sure it was fun at parties when you had people to laugh with, but it didn’t seem like too much fun if you were just… sad and alone. So why did so many people do it?

He studied the bottle and shook his head. “ _Man_ , grown-ups are stupid.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hesitant request here: does Ash ever help with or notice Little Cato's mental health stuff? I'd imagine she'd be really protective of her brother's if pushed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhhhhh, you know what?
> 
> I bet she mcfrickin’ does.

Ash spun in the captain’s chair listlessly, staring up at the ceiling as the minutes slowly ticked by.

Nightfall and Gary had decided to do some shopping around on the planet they landed on. Ash didn’t really feel like going on a supply run, so she opted to stay on the ship.

She thought Fox would stay too, but he wanted to get another plant. He really wanted to stick to the whole “take a life, make a life” thing. But that meant she was alone on the ship with Little Cato.

And really, that wouldn’t be so bad, except Little Cato had spent the _whole_ time in his room. That left Ash feeling incredibly bored. She wished she had something to do.

So when she heard an explosion outside, she was pissed but also absolutely elated to finally have _something_ happen. “AVA!” She called as she stormed out of the control room. “Open the door.”

 _“Fine,”_ Ava complied, _“Just don’t kill anyone. I don’t want to have to do a quick getaway.”_

Ava grinned as purple and black aura washed over her. “Don’t worry,” she said as the door opened, **“I won’t kill them.”**

She could see the culprits. A bunch of kids setting off what looked like fireworks. Ash wasn’t willing to let them strike up another one this close to the ship. **“Hey! Get away from our ship with those, you-!”**

A shout pulled her from her rant. She frowned and glanced behind her. “Little Cato?”

“Everyone get to the lower decks!” Little Cato yelled in the distance.

Ash was pulled back to her current situation by another firework being set off. Now considerably more angry–and concerned for her friend–she whirled on the kids and hovered above them. **“Get out of my sight before I _rain down unholy terror upon you!”_**

The kids shrieked and took off, leaving their box of junk behind in their haste to get away. Ash briefly thought about moving it, but a series of crashes from somewhere in the ship made her think that maybe she had bigger problems.

“Little Cato?” Ash called. “Little Cato!” She searched the hallways, trying to track the sound in empty hallways was proving to be difficult. “Where are y-”

An orange blur skidded around the corner ahead of her. He was looking around frantically, blaster in his hand fired up and ready to shoot. “Gary! Quinn?! _Anybody?!”_

Ash tipped her head. “Uh… Little Cato?”

He turned in her general direction, but he was looking at something far beyond her, eyes wide and filled with fear. “Guys, where are you?! Guys!”

Little Cato darted towards her, and Ash did her best to intercept him. “Little Cato, snap out of it! There’s nothing happening!”

“No!” Little Cato struggled to pull away from her. “I have to- they’re still out there somewhere!” He fired off the blaster at an enemy Ash couldn’t see. “Let me go! I have to find them!”

Ash grabbed the blaster and tossed it aside. “Little Cato, _stop!”_

The Ventrexian continued to struggle, but Ash managed to pull him to the ground and hugged him around the shoulders, trying to keep him as still as possible.

“Get off me, _get off!”_ Little Cato cried. “Don’t leave me here alone! _Gary!”_

“It was a bunch of _kids!”_ Ash shouted. “They had fireworks or something, no one’s in danger!” She hugged him tighter, internally freaking out but trying not to show it. “Come on, come on, come on, snap out of it. I don’t know how to do this, Little Cato _please_ snap out of it…”

Little Cato slowly calmed down. “Ash?” He asked shakily. “Is that you?”

Ash sighed in relief. “I thought you went completely crazy there for a second.” She let him out of her embrace and tucked her hair behind her ear. “No offense or anything.”

“None taken,” Little Cato said. “I uh… sorry about that.” He glanced around, as if trying to make sure he was really on the ship. “I don’t… the explosion…” His tail wrapped around his knees self-consciously.

Ash didn’t do well under stress, and everyone on the crew knew this. She lashed out, snapped at people. She was getting better, but she still needed some help sometimes, which everyone understood.

But the only one that Ash could ever talk to when she was stressed or angry was Little Cato. He was easy to talk to for some reason. Like the issue with Serepentis: Nightfall was brash and Gary tried to over correct, but Little Cato just… _talked_.

And right now it seemed like maybe she could be that person for him this time. She scoot closer to him. “Do you want… _talk_ about it?”

Little Cato hesitated. “It’s… not much to talk about really.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “When Gary was fighting for Earth, I made it _my_ mission to kill the Lord Commander. I had a chance and I took it. Except I was… I was _late_ and…” He curled in on himself a little. “Gary had this last ditch plan, I guess. I mean, _I_ didn’t know anything about it, so…”

Ash tilted her head. “What happened?”

“He uh… he ran the Galaxy One into the side of the Lord Commander’s ship.” Little Cato laughed uncomfortably. “I went flying to space!” He threw his hand in the air. “ _Whoooooosh!_ In a big fiery explosion.”

“What?!” Ash exclaimed. “What happened after that?”

Little Cato was silent for a second. “I was taken prisoner by _you_ guys.”

Ash felt marginally more awkward. “Oh… _ohhhhh_.” She hugged her knees to her chest. “So basically, until Gary showed up… you had _no_ idea if any of your friends were okay?”

“Not a clue,” Little Cato agreed. “I had pretty much given up hope by the time I got to your planet, honestly.” His took a shuddering breath. “I didn’t really know what to think. My dad was gone, my friends were gone, the Earth was gone, Quinn disappeared in a giant explosion, and–other than watching him fly a ship _into_ a bigger ship–I had no idea what had happened to Gary.”

“So the explosion…?”

Little Cato shifted. “Yeah, that… caught me by surprise. I did _not_ go to a good place there for a second.”

“I noticed.” Ash tentatively reached out and patted Little Cato on the shoulder. “But, you know, that’s okay sometimes.”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Really?”

Ash shrugged. “I mean, if you _didn’t_ have some weird issues after… the very long list of things that happened to you… I think _then_ I would be a little worried.”

“Better traumatized than insane, huh?” Little Cato joked.

“Yeah.” Ash smiled. “Better traumatized than insane.” They were quiet for a moment. “Do you wanna go steal those kids’ fireworks?”

Little Cato grinned. “Oh, _hell_ yeah.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a piece I wrote after Season 2 Episode 9. Because it hurt my feelings.

“Nightfall!” Ash bolted upright at the sound of Little Cato’s voice. She had been hanging out in her room while everyone else dealt with the waterfalls and Tribore and whatever else was going on, but now she was at full attention. “H.U.E., Fox, Ash! Somebody help, Gary’s hurt!”

Ash leapt out of bed and dashed to the airlock. Nightfall was already there, peering into the door anxiously. “Little Cato?!”

The Ventrexian stumbled out of the airlock, half-carrying an unconscious Gary through the doors. “Somebody… please, I cant- I don’t…” He nearly fell over. _“Help him.”_

Nightfall took Gary’s weight and Little Cato immediately collapsed on the ground. Fox came skidding around the corner. “What’s going on? I heard yelling.”

“Gary’s hurt.” Nightfall shouldered the captain of their ship. “I’m taking him to the medbay.” She glanced around. “Where’s Avocato?”

Little Cato struggled to get his helmet off. “No. No, no, no, no-” He finally managed to lift it off his head and he threw it to the side. He was gasping for breath, tears streaming down his face. “My fault, it’s all my fault…”

Ash knelt down cautiously. “Little Cato? Are you… okay?” Little Cato made a sound between a growl and distressed shout.

Fox put a hand on her shoulder. “Let me handle this one, sis. Nightfall, take Gary to the medbay.” Ash stood and backed away, giving Fox the space he needed to talk to Little Cato. “Alright buddy, what happened out there?”

“He’s gone,” Little Cato muttered. “He’s gone and it’s all my fault. I lost him. He finally remembered me and I lost him and I’m never getting him back and it’s all my-”

“Hey,” Fox said soothingly, “I know you’re freaked out, man. And that’s okay. But I need you to breathe, alright? Tell me what happened.”

Little Cato swallowed hard. “Attacked. Gary was still out… Dad and I protected him. I almost got carried off but Dad saved me and…” His eyes filled with fresh tears. “And he _remembered_ me. I thought it was… I thought…”

Ash crouched next to Fox. “What happened after that?”

“Gary woke up.” Little Cato started trembling. “He was possessed. He was going to _kill_ us, I… we tried to stop him.” He gestured weakly at the air. “He’s not anymore but… but now he’s _really_ hurt…”

Fox frowned slightly. “But what about your father?”

Little Cato inhaled sharply. “It said… he was the stronger vessel.” His claws dug into the fabric of his shirt. “His eyes… h-he shot Gary. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen. He said… he said…”

“What?” Fox asked. “What’d he say?”

“Doesn’t matter.” Little Cato stood unsteadily and headed to the medbay. “Gary’s hurt and I need to check on him.”

Fox stood to follow him. “Little Cato, wait!”

Ash floated after them, noticing Little Cato’s awkward gait. “Are you _limping?_ Why are you limping?”

“Probably because Gary grabbed me by the leg and threw me like a ragdoll, but that’s just a guess,” Little Cato snapped. His fear was slowly growing into anger. At least he wasn’t scared, but this was almost worse.

“Why won’t you tell us what happened?” Fox asked. “We’re just trying to help.”

Little Cato glanced back at them, but he didn’t slow down. “What do you want from me? He said I chose Gary over him… that Gary stole me _away_ from him. Then he _shot_ Gary.” He shook his head. “I _told_ him to stop. He wouldn’t _stop. Why wouldn’t he stop?”_

“Little Cato?” Fox glanced at Ash. They were losing him.

“He said he would _never_ father something so _weak_.” Little Cato narrowed his eyes. “And he’s right… I _am_ weak. I couldn’t even save him…” His breathing came shallower and shallower. “I didn’t want to. I swear I didn’t.”

Fox put a hand on Little Cato’s shoulder. “Stop, man. Nightfall will take care of Gary. What happened?”

_“I shot him!”_

Those three words bounced off the metal walls. Little Cato shrugged off Fox’s hand and glared at the floor.

“Happy now? I shot him. I _shot_ my dad.” He crossed his arms over his stomach. “And he said… he said I wasn’t his son.” His anger dissolved. “That he’d track me down and kill me.” He looked up at them with a blank expression. “But I don’t think he’s gonna survive that hole I put in his chest..”

The air froze around them as Little Cato turned away. “I killed my father. Again.” Tears were still streaming down his face, but his voice was unnervingly steady. “I’m gonna go check on Gary.”

Neither Fox nor Ash tried to stop him this time. There wasn’t anything they could say or do and they knew it. They could only hope that Gary would be okay. Because if he wasn’t… well, nobody wanted to think about that too much.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here’s the other story I did a few weeks ago. It takes place during Season 2 Episode 4, so… yeah. Good times.

“GARY!!” Little Cato panicked. Pushing himself off the ceiling, he tried to chase Gary into the translucent pink void. He slammed into it, unable to pass, watching Gary disappearing behind a wall of solidified time. “NO!!”

He beat his fists against the wall. “Gary?! Gary, can you hear me?! _Gary!”_ The power flickered back on, gravity reactivating, and Little Cato fell unceremoniously to the floor. “Hang on, Gary, I’m coming!” He pulled his blaster off his side and fired it at the wall. “Come on, come on, _come on!”_

The gun wasn’t working, so he holstered it and took off running. “Guys! Gary’s trapped on the other side, we gotta get him back!” He couldn’t hear anyone, and he assumed the worst. Had all been injured in the crash. Or maybe they- “Nightfall! HUE! Ash, Fox, _anybody!_ Hello?!”

Every hallway was empty. Giving a frustrated shout, Little Cato went back and checked every room. Twice. “Empty, empty… AVA where are they?!” He paused, realizing the ship’s AI hadn’t answered. “AVA, too? What is going on?!”

He looped back around to the control room. “Guys, this isn’t funny! We have to help Gary, he’s trapped on the-!”

Then he remembered. He and Gary were the only ones in the control room when it hit. Everyone else was…

“On the other side…” Little Cato whispered. “ _I’m_ on the other side.” He felt his heart sink with the realization. “I’m trapped.”

Between the slowly increasing despair and suffocating fear of never getting back to his friends, Little Cato spent the next couple of days throwing anything and everything at the pink wall that kept them separated. Eventually he realized that he simply didn’t have the resources to break solid time.

So he decided to be a little more productive with his time. He spent the next couple of days doing some repairs. There wasn’t much he could do, but he knew how to use the welding tools, so that’s what he took care of first.

After about four days of making absolutely sure he welded together every piece of the ship he could (it took longer than expected without AVA to tell him where to go and what to fix), Little Cato ended up back in the control room, tapping his fingers anxiously against the arm of the chair.

The controls weren’t working. _Nothing_ was working. And that stupid wall of pure pink frustration still wouldn’t budge no matter what he hit it with.

“Think…” Little Cato crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “Gary and the others are gonna try and find a way through from their side, and they’ve probably still got AVA. Maybe the best thing I can do is wait. I mean, the ship’s still connected, right? I could seriously mess stuff up if I start messing with wires.”

Rocking back and forth, he reconsidered. “Then again, this _is_ a time shard. Maybe normal laws of physics don’t apply here.” He paused. “Does this fall under physics? Whatever, it’s _some_ kind of science.”

He stood and cracked his knuckles. “Well, it’s been a week and nothing’s happened. If nothing over there has affected anything over here, then I guess I can mess with some stuff if I need to.”

The only real problem was that Little Cato wasn’t sure _what_ to do. He could do surface repairs. He understood the basics of spacecraft engineering. He knew how to hack into someone else’s mainframe. He could lightfold, jump a dead craft, hotwire someone’s ship (that last one was strictly emergencies only), but the Crimson Light was an advanced shipt. And when it came to redirecting power and trying to keep track of the important wires that needed to _not_ be cut, it was completely beyond him.

He was a hacker and builder, but he was not equipped for this.

Fortunately, he found a manual that outlined the ships wiring and circuits and whatever else was in this complex monster of a ship. Unfortunately, it was huge and full of words he didn’t understand. But, on the plus side, he had plenty of time to read through it and even understand most of it.

Which also meant… that meant his friends still hadn’t come for him.

But they _were_ coming, Little Cato was sure of it. Even as weeks and weeks passed, he knew that they were going to come, even if it was taking a while.

The more he studied, the more clear it became that he wouldn’t be able to move the ship. He would have to redirect power to the engine, and he didn’t have access to it. He tried to see if he could do it indirectly from the controls but, as he suspected, the time shard was preventing any correlation between the split sides of the ship.

He couldn’t get power to the engine, but he could redirect it to the parts of the ship he _did_ have access to. In order to make sure he had as much power as possible, he shut off most of the lights and redirected it to oxygen, gravity, and other essential parts to his survival on the ship.

By the time he had studied all the materials and mastered the intricacies of the ship, there was an estimated sixty-seven years or so before he ran out of power. Not that he would ever _need_ that much power because Gary would definitely find him _long_ before then.

The three years he had already spent there were nothing, really. He had already spent that long in the Lord Commander’s care, and that was _way_ more terrifying.

There was only one thing that he had from the other side, and that was the hologram he had built of his father. It was kind of the only thing that kept him motivated. When in doubt, Avocato was always there to say that he believed in Little Cato’s abilities.

Or at least that’s what Little Cato could _program_ him to say. The real Avocato had never even said ‘I love you’, much less ‘I’m proud’ but, hey, a kid could dream. Besides, who else would know? Fox was his roommate, and _he_ didn’t even know.

Three years doubled, then tripled, and suddenly twenty years had gone by. Little Cato had stopped carving lines into the wall. There were too many to count.

Except that he _had_ counted all of them. Several times. Because he didn’t have much else to do.

All he could do was wait. Wait and survive. Fix the ship, maintain the ship, wait for Gary, survive until the next day.

Being thirty-four was weird. Little Cato around Gary’s age… though Gary would actually be in his early fifties by now.

Little Cato often wondered if the others were stuck just like he was. Could they have possibly found a way to detach the Crimson Light from the shard? Or maybe they had called for help and gotten on a different ship?

Gary did have universe-saving to do… dimensional keys to find… it would make sense if they had all left. Little Cato wouldn’t blame them, really. Two decades was a long time to wait.

“You bet it’s a long time,” a voice laughed, “I’ve been hopping timelines for a while now. Twenty years is no joke.”

Little Cato whirled around. “Nightfall?” But of course there was no one there. He shook his head. “Get it together, Little Cato. You haven’t been here that long.” The tally marks on the wall seemed to laugh at him. “Well… not long enough to go crazy, anyway.”

He hesitated. “But hypothetically speaking… what _would_ Nightfall say if she were here? She knows more about time than I do…”

“The best thing you can do is remember is to stay calm.” Nightfall’s voice said gently. “It doesn’t matter how much you know or how much you learn, it’s useless if you are too scared to act.”

Little Cato smiled. “Right… stay calm.” He smiled to himself while he worked. “And you know who was always pretty good at keeping people calm? Mooncake.” He grinned. “Mooncake always gave the best face hugs.”

“Chookity-pok?”

“Well, probably Gary because he has, you know, arms. But you and your little poddles totally win in the face-hug department.”

“Chookity.”

Little Cato chuckled. “Yeah, well-” He dropped wrench he was holding. “What the heck am I doing? Am I _seriously_ talking to myself?! Get a grip, man!”

And he had a grip… for another two years or so. Then he figured, what’s the harm in pretending he had Nightfall and Mooncake back? As long as he _remembered_ that it wasn’t real, everything would be fine. It was really no different than the hologram he had of his father.

He just couldn’t imagine Gary. _Only_ Nightfall and Mooncake.

Though after a while it seemed kind of wrong not to include HUE. And things were just too quiet in his room without Fox around to bicker with, and if Fox was there of course Ash had to be there.

Clarence got to be there to for some reason, but Little Cato didn’t remember when he showed up. Or Tribore. They both just sort of appeared.

Somehow he managed to fix AVA. Though he wasn’t sure if he had _actually_ fixed AVA, or if that was just one more thing he had created in his slowly deteriorating mind, but she and HUE seemed to be getting along either way.

And KVN was there… but he hated KVN. There’s _no way_ he would have imagined KVN there with them. Maybe he had been there the whole time… that had to be it. Of course that was it. KVN was just always there.

The only one who wasn’t there was Gary. Tribore asked about it once, where Gary was, and all Little Cato could do was tell him the truth: Gary was on the other side. They had to get back. No matter how long it took.

But then _awful_ things started to happen. Fox and Ash died, Nightfall slowly started to go blind, things that Little Cato wouldn’t wish upon his friends in a _million_ years were becoming reality all around him. Part of him started to wonder if ever really _imagined_ them.

Forty-five years on the other side of the time shard, and Little Cato had completely forgotten he was ever alone.

Little Cato had forgotten that he was the trapped one. He had forgotten that the friends he had conjured were only meant for emotional support. Everything was real to him. Sixty years of trying to break through the time shard to find Gary was so _so_ real…

He didn’t remember that he forgot until he was saved.

It wasn’t until he saw Gary staring down at him that he remembered where he had _really_ been for the past sixty years. When he had his ghostly friends to keep him company, he forgot that he had been alone, his mind twisting his memories so that he never remembered.

But being back… being young and back in his time… he remembered. Every memory came flooding back: every torturous night, every haunting day, every moment of crippling loneliness came back with a crushing vengeance.

“I was alone for so long…” Little Cato stood, trying not to show how hard it was to reorient himself. “For sixty years…”

Gary blanched. “Wait, are you saying you _remember?_ You remember what _happened_ in there?”

“Ugh.” His own insanity flashed through his mind. “Yeah… all of it.” He couldn’t stop thinking about how twisted everything had gotten. All he had wanted was the reassuring memories of his friends. Something to call on when he didn’t know what to do.

How did things get so out of hand? _Why_ did they get so out of hand? Maybe trying to create a person out of memories wasn’t all that… healthy.

An image of a gray box prodded at the back of his mind. There was something he had to do.

“Dang. Loneliness is the worst, man. I’m just glad you’re okay.” Gary looked at him, concerning tugging his features into a worried frown. “You _are_ okay… right?”

The answer was no. But he couldn’t tell Gary that. He also couldn’t lie and say yes. So he just said, “Thank you, guys. For not giving up on me.”

And then he left. It was going to be a long, _long_ time before he was ready to talk about what happened in the time shard. But there was _one_ thing he definitely wouldn’t be telling this to.

It was time to put that hologram away. For good this time.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If it's okay could you write a story about Avocato and Gary being confused every time little Cato goes " Dad?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh, the chaos that could ensue from this…
> 
> everyone’s confused, not just Gary and Avocato

Little Cato ran down the hall, silently cursing to himself. “I can’t believe I forgot to turn off the virtual asium, I am _so_ stupid, Gary’s gonna _kill_ me.” He caught Ash, who was going the opposite direction down the hall. “Hey! Ash! Can you tell my dad I’ll meet him on the bridge in, like, five minutes? I was training in the virtual asium and I forgot to turn it off.”

Ash shrugged. “Sure, I’ll tell him.” She watched Little Cato take off back down the hall. When she got to the bridge, she couldn’t see Gary anywhere, but Avocato was sitting in one of the chairs and staring out the window. “Have you seen Gary?”

Avocato raised an eyebrow. “Uh… think he’s in his room. Why?”

“Little Cato needed to see him about something,” Ash said as she headed back out.

The older Ventrexian was perplexed. Little Cato was supposed to show him the ins and outs of the Crimson Light. Why would he just take off?

Meanwhile, Little Cato was turning off the virtual asium, relieved he hadn’t overloaded anything. “Alright, good. Now I need to go show dad around the ship.”

He spotted Quinn on the way back to the bridge and waved. “Hey, Quinn! Can you tell my dad I got the virtual asium turned off? I gotta go do something.”

Quinn smiled. “Sure.” She had seen Avocato leaving the bridge just a few minutes ago. Turning down a hallway, she managed to catch him before he disappeared into another room. “Hey, Avocato, Little Cato wanted me to let you know he got the virtual asium shut off.”

Avocato blinked. “What? I didn’t even know he left the virtual asium _on.”_

Gary appeared at the end of the hallway, grinning when he saw Quinn and Avocato. “Hey, guys! Do either of you know if Little Cato shut the virtual asium off?”

“Oh! Hey Gary!” Ash rounded the corner, looking confused. “You’re supposed to be meeting Little Cato on the bridge.”

“What? No, I’m not!” Gary said.

“Yeah! No, he’s not!” Avocato pointed to himself. “Little Cato is supposed to be meeting _me_ on the bridge.”

Quinn blinked. “So was I supposed to tell _Gary_ that Little Cato turned off the virtual asium?”

Gary pinched the bridge of his nose. “Considering I’m the one that sent him back there to turn it off, yes.”

Ash tipped her head. “And was I supposed to tell _Avocato_ that Little Cato was going to meet him on the bridge?”

Avocato rolled his eyes. “Yes.”

“Dad? _Daaaaaaad!”_ Little Cato’s echoed off the metal walls. “Dad, where’d you go? I thought we were-” The young alien paused when he saw them. Then he sighed. “Okay, what happened?”

Quinn raised an eyebrow. “You weren’t very clear on _which dad,_ Ash and I were supposed to find.”

Little Cato smacked himself in the forehead. “Agh, _stupid.”_ He dragged his paw down his face. “This is gonna take some getting used to.”

“You bet it is,” Gary ruffled his hair. “But we’ll figure it out.”

Avocato smiled. “How about that tour of the ship.”

“Please,” Little Cato said, “Anything to stop this incredibly awkward situation.”

Gary watched them walk away and chuckled. “Oh, this is gonna be confusing for a _while_ , isn’t it?”

“Yep,” Ash and Quinn agreed.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Made a post a while back about Little Cato’s lack of laughter (basically nonexistent, it’s actually really sad)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah.
> 
> Guess what I did.

Gary stood and slammed his hands down on the table. “Oh my crap!”

Avocato nearly choked. “What the hell, man?!” He put his cup down and glared up at his friend. “ _Warn_ a dude before you do that.”

“Yeah,” Ash said bitterly, her shirt soaked from the glass of water Fox had pretty much thrown when Gary startled him. “Some warning would have been _nice_.”

Mooncake floated around Gary’s head. “Chookity-pok.”

“Sorry about that,” Gary apologized, “But I just remembered something incredible.”

Quinn leaned forward. “What is it, Gary?”

“The two best jokes I have ever heard in my life,” Gary said seriously.

Sheryl perked up from the corner of the room. “Are they the ones your father used to tell?” Gary’s grin must have been answer enough, because Sheryl settled back against the wall. “Well then, let’s see if you tell them as well as he did, eh?”

Gary sat back down in his chair and cleared his throat. “Okay. Everyone ready?”

Fox bounced in his seat excitedly. “Oh man, I love jokes!” He frowned. “As long as they’re not rascist.” He narrowed his eyes. “It’s not racist, is it?”

“Nope. Not racist,” Gary reassured him. “So, the joke starts with three construction workers, and-”

“Why construction workers?” Ash asked.

“Because bricks,” Gary answered. “They have this big pile of bricks. And they get super bored, right? So they try to see who can throw one of these bricks up the highest. Problem is, the sun’s super bright, and they can’t see whose went the highest.

“But one of the guys gets an idea. The ground all around them is super muddy, so if they throw up in the bricks and land in the mud-”

“Then whoever’s sank deeper won!” Fox exclaimed.

Gary snapped and pointed at Fox. “Bingo. So the first guy throws up his brick. When it comes down it sinks about a foot into the mud.

“The second says, _‘Pfft, I can top that easy!’_ and throws up his brick. And when it comes down it sinks three feet into the mud.

“Now this third guy is real confident. He grabs a brick and says, _‘Oh, yeah? Watch this!’_ and he throws up his brick.”

Ash paused the slow process of wringing out her hair. “And?”

“And it doesn’t come back down.”

Everyone glanced at each other, smiles tentatively spreading across their faces. Mooncake landed on the table and gazed up at Gary in confusion. “Pok?”

Avocato hummed. “I’m with Mooncake. I’m not sure that was really much of a joke, Gary.”

Gary fought back a devious smile. “Alright, alright, that’s fair. But wait ‘till you hear this _next_ one.

“A woman and her pet parrot-”

“What’s a parrot?” Fox asked.

Quinn patted Gary’s hand. “Not everyone here knows Earthen species of birds, Gary.”

“Oh right. Okay, so a parrot is a _super_ smart bird that can mimic sound. You can even teach them to talk.”

“Whoa…” Fox said. “And she had one for a _pet_?”

“Right,” Gary confirmed, “And this lady wanted to take her parrot to see her mom. Because her mom loved parrots. There was just one problem: she was going to have to take a plane, and she couldn’t afford any that would allow her to have a pet on board.”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “Plane?”

“Um…” Gary thought for a moment. “Planes help people get from place to place by flying, but like, inside the atmosphere. Basically, planes are just domesticated spaceships. But anyway, back to the story.

“The only plane she can afford is one that has a bunch of rules. No outside food, no smoking, and worst of all, no pets.

“But she thinks for a while and she decides _‘I could get away with this’._ So she sneaks the bird onto the plane by hiding it in her shirt. Everything’s great for a while, the bird is quiet and no one suspects a thing.

“Then the co-pilots comes through, he’s smoking a cigar and greeting people and making sure everyone’s doing okay.”

Fox scowled. “But I thought one of the rules was-”

Sheryl had moved away from the wall and closer to the table. She reached out a hand and patted Fox’s shoulder. “Wait for it, love.”

Gary and Sheryl shared a quick knowing glance before he continued the joke. “So the co-pilot comes through and stops next to her seat. He asks her how her flight’s going and she says everything’s going great.

“Just then, the parrot starts making noise, squawking and talking and just making quiet bird noise in general. The co-pilot gets mad and demands she remove the parrot from her shirt.

“She does, but the guy immediately snatches her bird away.”

“No!” Fox gasped.

 _“Yes,”_ Gary said, “And of _course_ she gets mad. She stands up and tells the guy to give her the bird back but he says _‘No, pets aren’t allowed’_ so she snatches the cigar out of his mouth and say _‘Cigars aren’t allowed either’_.”

“Now the guy is _really_ mad, and he opens up a window, saying _‘You can’t have pets on this plane!’_ then he chucks the bird out the window. So the lady retaliates by opening another and window and saying _‘Well you can’t have cigars on this plane!’_ and throws it out.

“Now they’re _both_ angry, but they’re also drawing a _lot_ of attention. The co-pilot decides to go back to the cockpit, and he’s all mad and huffy and grumbling to himself.

“But then!” Everyone freezes. “He hears a sound. Something is tapping on the window. He looks out and he sees the lady’s parrot.”

Fox pumped his fist. “Yes! Parrot lives.”

“Chookity!”

“Yep! Parrot lives!” Gary grinned. “And guess what the parrot had in its beak.”

Avocato spoke up. “The cigar?”

“No,” Gary said, “The brick.”

The room went dead silent for about ten seconds. Then a chorus of realization and laughter rang filled the room.

“The brick-”

“Oh my god!”

“Your father told it better, love.”

“You’re biased, Mom.”

“But- but the _brick!”_

Then another sound rose above the idle chatter and explosive laughter. At first Gary thought maybe they had an intruder on board, because he definitely didn’t recognize the voice he was hearing.

But then he spotted it. The source of the sound.

Little Cato.

Laughing.

Gary tried to remember the last time he had heard Little Cato laugh. And it wasn’t so much that he couldn’t remember, it had just… never happened.

He put his hand on top of Quinn’s head. “Wha-” He turned her so that she was looking at the younger Ventrexian. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

Ash caught sight of them staring and glanced around to find what had caught their attention. As soon as she saw the foreign sight of Little Cato’s laughing, she elbowed her brother. He looked annoyed until she pointed.

Little Cato didn’t seem to notice or care that everyone else had gone quiet. He smacked the table, hunched over in his seat and wheezing as he laughed. It sounded like it should have been loud, but it was too raspy to be as hearty as it could have been, almost like Little Cato’s vocal chords were unused to having a laugh pass through them.

Avocato frowned up at Gary. “What?”

Gary shushed him as Little Cato started to come down from his laughing high. “Dad, oh my gosh, that was the funniest thing I’ve _ever_ heard.” He jumped up. “I gotta go write that down! I’ll be right back!”

As soon as Little Cato disappeared out of the room, Gary grabbed Quinn by the shoulders. “Holy crap! Did you hear that?!”

Quinn smiled. “Yes, Gary, I heard it.”

“He laughed!” Gary exclaimed. “Oh my crap, he _laughed_!” 

Fox blinked. “I’m his roommate. I ain’t _never_ heard that before.”

Ash tucked her hair behind her ear. “You know, I never really thought about the fact that Little Cato never laughs. He should do that more often.”

“Strange,” Sherly said thoughtfully, “Sounded like the kid hasn’t laughed in years.”

Avocato stood up. “What the hell are you guys getting so worked up over? He just _laughed.”_

“Chookity-pok!”

“He’s right!” Gary said. “A _very_ uncommon occurrence! I’ve known him for _months_ now, and I’ve _never_ heard that!”

Avocato blinked. “What do you mean? He’s the happiest kid I know, he laughs _all_ the time.”

“Maybe he used to,” Fox said, “Not anymore.”

“You guys are serious?” Avocato asked. “But… he’s-”

Quinn put her hand on Little Cato’s arm. “Optimistic.”

“Not to mention upbeat,” Sheryl added. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone more excited about a reverse robbery.”

Avocato looked bemused. “A what?”

“Look, ya kid’s not happy, mate,” Sheryl said bluntly, “He’s optimistic and upbeat, but that’s not the same as _happy.”_

Gary shot her a look. “Mom.”

Sheryl shrugged. “What? I’m just saying what everyone else is thinking.”

“So the whole time I’ve been dead,” Avocato said slowly, “He’s just been… not _happy?”_

“To be fair, before he was with us, he was with the Lord Commander,” Gary reminded him, “I can’t imagine he’s laughed too much in the past three years. I mean, do _you_ even remember the last time you heard him laugh?”

Avocato hesitated. “I…” He concentrated on the table. “He…” The Ventrexian ended up putting his face in his hands. “When I said I wanted to catch up on what’s been going on with my son, this is _not_ what I had in mind.”

“Pok-pok-pok,” Mooncake interjected. “Chookity- _pok_.”

Gary smiled. “You’re right, Mooncake. No point in dwelling on the past.” He gave Avocato a friendly punch to the shoulder. “From now on, we make it our personal mission to make sure Little Cato laughs more. Deal?”

“I’m in,” Quinn said.

Ash raised her hand. “Me too. Except I don’t think I’m gonna be very good at it.”

“I’m his roommate,” Fox offered, “I could probably find something that’ll make him laugh.”

Avocato looked around at them. “Looks like my friend made some pretty good friends while I was gone, huh?”

“The best,” Gary agreed. “Now quick, before Little Cato gets back, does anyone know any more jokes?”


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kind of a sad one-shot idea but whatevs. Ash starts crying A LOT over Nightfall’s death and only let’s Gary in her room because he missed her just as much as she did, while Gary starts to try and comfort her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this girl need a hug, y’all

“Dad.” Gary and Avocato both turned to their son. “Sorry. Gary, I need you for a second.” He took Gary by the hand and dragged him out of the control room.

Confused, Gary asked, “Spider-Cat? Can I get an explanation, here? Are you okay?”

Little Cato nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.” They came to a halt in front of Ash’s room. “But she’s not.” He gestured at the door. “I’ve been trying to talk to her, she won’t let me in. She’s been in there for ages now, and I don’t know how to help, but I think you might.”

“Wha- _me?”_ Gary said, “Are you sure, Spider-Cat? Ash tends to misunderstand everything I say.”

His son glanced away. “Just _try_ , Dad, that’s all I’m asking. She needs somebody and it can’t be me this time.” He looked back up at him. “You’re the only one who’s gonna get it, you know?”

That was a lie. Little Cato understood _loss_ well enough, but Gary knew what he was trying to say. This was about Nightfall. She and Ash had a relationship that was pretty special. Nightfall had helped her through a lot, especially with the Serepentis ordeal.

And the only other person who knew Nightfall on a personal level like that was Gary.

“Alright,” Gary said, “I’ll try.”

Little Cato smiled. “Thanks.” He started to walk away. “I’ll give you two some space. If you need me, I’ll be hanging out with Dad.”

Gary wasn’t sure he was really equipped to talk to Ash. He missed Nightfall. A _lot_. But when it came to talking about lost friends with kids, he wasn’t the best at it. Heck, he took Little Cato on a _suicide mission_ when they lost Avocato.

But Little Cato had only asked that he try. So he knocked on Ash’s door and held his breath.

“Go away, Little Cato!” Ash shouted from the other side. “I don’t wanna talk to you!”

Gary cleared his throat. “It’s uh… it’s Gary.”

The door suddenly opened, Ash’s tear-stained face gazing up at him. “Gary?”

“Hey,” Gary said, “Little Cato said that you might need someone to talk to.” Ash peered into the hallway. “Don’t worry, he knows you don’t want to talk to him. That’s why he came and got me.”

Ash opened the door a little further. “Okay…”

“Okay.” He walked in. And the first thing he saw was Nightfall’s helmet sitting on Ash’s bed. “You really miss her, huh?”

She sat down on her bed and pulled Nightfall’s helmet into her lap. “Yeah. It sucks.”

Gary sat down next to you. “You’re right. It _does_ suck. And there’s not really anything I can say to make it suck less.”

Ash scrubbed at her eye. “I’m just _really_ tired of crying. I’ve cried and I’ve cried and I don’t _feel_ better. It still hurts.” She ran a hand over the helmet’s smooth surface. “She was the closest thing I had to mom after my real one tried to sacrifice me.”

“I know,” Gary said.

“I miss her, Gary.”

Gary wrapped his arms around Ash’s shoulders. “I know.”

Ash leaned into him. “I want her back.”

“We all do,” Gary said softly.

She tossed the helmet back onto her bed and threw her arms around Gary, hugging him back and crying into his jacket.

Gary wasn’t all that good at talking about loss. But sometimes you didn’t need words. Sometimes you just needed somebody to _be_ there. And that was one thing Gary knew he could do.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I read through your one shots about Fox, Ash, and Gary helping Little Cato deal with flashbacks and nightmares and thought “Hmm. Maybe it’s Avocato’s turn to comfort his son.” Then some part of me said “Nonono, PLOT TWIST. Avocato’s got plenty of potential trauma to deal with, so what if HE gets a flashback or nightmare that Little Cato knows how to help him through due to past experience?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you know, i have tons of ideas with Little Cato’s trauma in regards to Avocato (like, so many i don’t even know what to do with them all). but Little Cato helping his father? you are woke friendo.

Little Cato was having a rather restless night. As long as he wasn’t looking out a window, he could almost forget that they were flying around in Final Space. In the quiet of his room it was just like flying through _regular_ space.

But, for some reason, that night he just couldn’t seem to shake the thought. They were just… _stuck_ in some nightmare dimension full of Titans and unknown dangers and Invic-

He got out of bed and walked out into the brightly lit hallway. Laying in bed thinking about it wasn’t going to do him much good. He needed something to distract himself. The arcade seemed like a pretty good idea, not much that could go wrong with playing a few video games.

Then he heard a muffled voice start shouting. It may have been his imagination, but it almost sounded like they were shouting his name. He had a suspicion of who it might be, but he really hoped he was wrong.

Taking a detour, he headed towards his father’s room, still hoping that he was wrong. But as soon as he was standing outside his father’s room, all his suspicions were confirmed. His father was shouting about something, something to do with _him_ , and it didn’t sound like anything good.

“AVA…” Little Cato said quietly.

The door slid open without a word from the AI. Nowadays, AVA knew better than to question when a person asked to be let into someone else’s room at night. There was a lot of trauma to go around on this ship.

Little Cato stepped inside the room cautiously. He didn’t dare turn on any lights, he knew better than to startle someone awake with bright lights. Speaking from personal experience, it wasn’t a great way to wake up, especially from a nightmare.

He approached his father slowly, trying to figure out how he was going to wake up his thrashing father. Nightmares were pretty common on the ship, but everyone was different. Little Cato decided trial by error was going to be his best best. He wasn’t going to know how to help until he just… tried.

“Dad,” Little Cato said quietly, “Dad, it’s me.”

“I’m sorry-”

“Dad,” he said louder, “Wake up. It’s just a dream.” When that didn’t work, Little Cato tried shouting, “Dad! It’s a nightmare!”

Avocato managed to kick his blanket off the bed, still asleep, though not too soundly. “He’s angry with me… he’s… Little Cato, I-”

Little Cato braced himself. “Alright, Plan B.” He jumped on his father’s bed and shook his shoulder. “Dad, can you hear? Come on, wake up!” He narrowly dodged Avocato’s fist. “Crap! That was close.”

He went back to shaking his father, trying to ignore how desperately his name was being screamed.

“Dad, wake up!”

Avocato’s eyes snapped open and he bolted upright, nearly knocking Little Cato backwards. “Where is he?! Little Cato! I have to find-”

Little Cato caught his balance and grabbed Avocato’s paw. “I’m here! I’m here, Dad, look at me.” He hadn’t seen his father this scared since the day a bomb been stuck to his back. Reaching out with his other paw, he grabbed his father by the shoulder. “Breathe, Dad, I’m right here.”

Slowly, Avocato’s gaze focused. “L-Little Cato?”

“Hey,” Little Cato said, “That sounded like a bad one. You okay?”

“What are you… what?”

Little Cato sat back, still holding his hand. “Everyone’s got nightmares, Dad. Every single one of us. We’ve all had our fair share of helping each other.” He gave his father’s paw a reassuring squeeze. “You wanna talk about it? Was it Invictus?”

Avocato laughed. “Are you seriously trying to comfort-”

“Yeah. I _am_ seriously trying to comfort you.” Little Cato raised an eyebrow. “You’re a killer ex-soldier and badass bounty hunter to everyone else, but you’re still a _father_ to me. I know you’re squishy on the inside.”

“I am not-”

“Shut up, yes you are. Dad would agree with me, too.”

“Don’t bring your dad into this.” Avocato sighed. “And the nightmare wasn’t about Invictus.

“Being brainwashed by Invictus was… strange. I know whatever I did wasn’t _good_ , but I don’t remember most of it. When Ash forced him out, I had _no_ idea _what_ was going on or _where_ I was or _how_ I got there. I just… wasn’t me.”

Little Cato tipped his head. “So… what _was_ your nightmare about?”

Avocato paused. “It was the day I lost you. The scariest day of my life.”

It was one of the scariest days of Little Cato’s life too. He’d faced death _several_ times, but there was something different about it when your father held the gun. “I’m _back_ now, Dad. I’m back, and we’re together, and we’re safe.” He remembered where they were and amended, “Well, _mostly_.”

“That’s not it,” Avocato clenched the blankets with the paw that wasn’t holding Little Cato’s. “Son, I almost _killed_ you that day.”

“I know,” Little Cato said.

Avocato scowled. “I was a terrible person. What kind of person holds a gun to a child. What kind of monster holds a gun to their son?” Tears started welling up in Avocato’s eyes. “I was _horrible_ to you.”

“I know,” Little Cato repeated.

Avocato looked at him. “So why aren’t you mad at me? In all my nightmares, you’re always furious with me.”

Little Cato’s heart twisted knowing his father was genuinely afraid that he’d be angry. He spent three years afraid that Little Cato would be angry, and Little Cato never got the chance to tell him he wasn’t. “I’m not mad because you’re my father.”

“But-”

“Look,” Little Cato interrupted, “I’ve had years and years to think about life and other junk, okay? Dwelling on the past doesn’t get you anywhere, trust me. You’ll drive yourself crazy trying to think of all the ways you could’ve done better.

“So yeah, you almost shot me. But you _didn’t_. And that’s the part that matters.” Little Cato smiled up at his father. “And if you still feel like crap about it, just talk to someone, okay? Talk to me or Gary or whoever. We’ve all got our stuff. No one’s gonna judge.

“And don’t be embarrassed about the nightmares, okay? You wouldn’t _believe_ how many times I’ve had to get help with those.”

Avocato rubbed his eyes and returned Little Cato’s smile. “You sound like a wise old man,” he joked, “When did you get so smart?”

Little Cato shrugged. “Dunno.” He would save the whole ‘surprise-I’m-actually-seventy-four-years-old’ talk for another time. Right now, his father needed him to be a rock. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m wiped out.”

“Oh.” Avocato cleared his throat. “Sure. If you want, you can go-”

“What?” Little Cato asked. “And leave you all shaken up from a nightmare like that?” He let go of Avocato’s hand and dove under the covers. “No way. I’m staying with _you_ tonight.” Avocato opened his mouth to speak. “And before you say no, consider this: _yes_. Because I’m gonna stay anyways.”

Avocato laughed. “Where’d you get that stubbornness from?”

“I’ve got a couple guesses,” Little Cato said, “And they all start with an _Avocato_.”

His father laid back and wrapped him in a crushing hug. “Thank you, son.”

Little Cato hugged him back. “No problem, Dad. Anytime.”

They stayed wrapped in each other’s embrace long after they had fallen asleep, neither one of them willing to let go, and both of them more than happy to have the reassurance of the other’s presence.

Hopefully they’d never have to let go again.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gary getting emotional to Avocato about thinking he's still not a good dad even after everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I live for insecure Gary Goodspeed. The man is trying his best here.

“So after you shot me–still _not_ about that by the way–Little Cato dragged me back up to the Crimson Light.” Avocato sat at rapt attention. He craved _any_ new detail concerning his son or his friends. And this whole adoption thing was _definitely_ something he wanted to be caught up on.

Gary continued, waving his hand around aimlessly. “And then I was unconcious for, like, three days? And when I woke up, he was gone.”

“Gone?” Avocato asked. “What do you mean gone?”

“I mean he left me a message saying he didn’t belong with us and he left,” Gary explained, “He said shooting you wasn’t something he could come back from and that we shouldn’t look for him.”

Avocato leaned forward. “But you _did_ go look for him, right?”

“Of course I did! I’m not gonna let a fourteen year old run around by himself.” Gary paced back and forth in front of the table. “Anyway, Nightfall and Mooncake ran around with me trying to find him. Nightfall said I needed to step up for Little Cato. And she was right.

“When we _finally_ found him, he told me to go away. I thought it was because he didn’t want to see me, but it turns out he had joined a group of bounty hunters who wanted to kill me.”

Avocato narrowed his eyes. “Bounty hunters?”

Gary nodded. “Yeah, takes after you, I guess.” He ignored the look Avocato gave him. “So while they were shooting at us-”

“Shooting at you?”

“Yeah, there’s a bounty on my head or something,” Gary said flippantly, “But I offered to adopt Little Cato in the middle of it.”

“ _While_ they were _shooting_ at you?”

“In hindsight, not the best idea,” Gary admitted, “But you should have _seen_ the kid’s face, Avocato. He actually asked, _‘You wanna be my dad?’,_ like he couldn’t believe it.”

Avocato smiled. “To be fair, he doesn’t have the best experience with fathers. Tends to lose ‘em, you know? Probably thought you were assigning yourself a death sentence by offering to be his father.”

Gary laughed. “I guess you’re right.” He took a seat across from Avocato. “But I wouldn’t take it back for anything, death sentence or no.”

“I knew I picked the right guy look after my kid,” Avocato said. “Well, _our_ son.”

“Oh uh.. I wouldn’t say _that.”_ Gary’s expression immediately became solemn. “I messed up, dude. A _lot._ I’ll be honest, I’m still not sure I’m doing a real good job.”

Avocato tipped his head. “What are you talking about? It sounds like you and Little Cato have gotten really close.”

Gary rested his arms on the table. “We have. But when you died I could barely take care of _myself_ , much less a kid. It took a while to get used to looking after him.” He chuckled to himself. “I mean, I took him on a suicide mission to kill the Lord Commander.”

“You did _what?”_

“I know!” Gary said, “It was dumb. It was such a dumb decision. And then I left him _alone_ on the ship with a time machine. A friggin’ _time machine_ , Avocato.” He threw his hands up in the air. “Who leaves a grieving kid alone with the one _crazy dangerous_ thing that could fix his problem? He almost got wiped from existence.

“And that’s not even the worst part,” Gary sighed. “The worst part is I _can’t_ help him, Avocato. I don’t know how. All I can do is try my best, but I don’t know if that good enough. It doesn’t _feel_ good enough.

“The kid’s seen war, man.” Gary ran a hand through his hair. “He’s been imprisoned and blasted into space and… I don’t know.” He slumped in his chair. “I’m doing better _now_ , but I definitely wasn’t the right guy at the time. I messed up a lot.”

Avocato studied co-parent carefully. “Gary, what do you think being a parent _is?”_

Gary glanced up at him. “What?”

“Look, man, _nobody_ knows how to do this stuff. You think _I_ knew what I was doing? Hell no!” Avocato smiled reassuringly. “Little Cato is alive and safe and, for the most part, a halfway happy kid. It’s more than I could have hoped for.”

“So you… _don’t_ think I’m a terrible father?”

“Do you think _I’m_ a terrible father?”

“I think maybe you used to be,” Gary answered, “But you’re trying to be better.” He paused. “And I guess I’m jut trying to be better too.”

Avocato held out his hand. “Then we’ll work on getting better together. For Little Cato.”

“Yeah.” Gary clasped his friend’s hand with a smile. “For Little Cato.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I hate to ask this, and you don't have to do it, just an idea. It's cool if you're more into doing dadspeed. I get it. Gary's more than earned that. But... General Avocato taking care of a sick Little Cato? Again, you don't have to do it. Totally understandable. Thanks for reading this sludge anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Sludge” what??? Dude, this is an adorable idea!

It had been a _long_ day for Avocato. As much as he hated being a soldier and doing whatever the Lord Commander told him, the days where he had nothing to do bored him to _death._ There was nothing to do, and it made time stand still.

The mission was over, almost a week of conquering in the name of the Lord Commander, but now all he had to do was just sit and _wait_ while they flew home. He was bored out of his mind.

On the plus side, he _did_ get to go see his son. It’d been a while since Avocato had been on base and, while Little Cato was pretty independent for a ten year old, he still wished he could check on the kid a little more often.

But Avocato was a soldier, he didn’t get to do what he wanted, he did what he was told.

Fortunately, he knew exactly where Little Cato would be. The base was kind of like a second home for the higher ranking soliders. The grunts went home and were called upon as needed, but people like Avocato were too important to let wander off.

If Little Cato was going to be anywhere, he’d be training. And, because this _was_ home to many soldiers, there was a specific place just for that purpose.

Normally, Avocato wouldn’t be gone for so long. He hoped his eager son hadn’t overdone it while he was gone. Training was good for the kid, but sometimes he really _did_ try too hard.

As he suspected, Little Cato was in the training area. There were a couple of other kids there, kids of higher-ranking soldiers like him, and a couple of adults chatting in the corner.

“Little Cato!” Avocato called. His son didn’t appear to hear him, still punching relentlessly at the bag hanging from the ceiling. He chuckled softly at his son’s determination and walked towards the punching bag.

The closer he got, the more he noticed something… off. It couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but Little Cato’s hits didn’t seem to land the way they usually did. They were weaker, uncoordinated… it wasn’t like him.

“Little Cato,” Avocato repeated once he was within hearing distance. “Boy! Can’t you hear me?”

His son turned to face him, his gaze darting around his general direction before finally pinpointing him. “Oh!” Little Cato saluted. “Hey, Dad!”

Avocato frowned. “You don’t… why are you saluting?”

Little Cato giggled. “I dunno.” His arm fell to his side. “I haven’t seen you in forever, Dad.”

“It’s been a few days,” Avocato agreed. “You been training?”

“Everyday!” Little Cato said. Avocato noticed Little Cato swaying a bit. “I been… I been training _so_ hard.” He blinked rapidly, shaking his head as if to clear it. “You uh.. you wouldn’t _believe_ how hard I been training.”

Avocato scowled. “I bet I _would_ believe it.” He knelt to look his son in the eyes. “I _told_ you to quit overdoing things.”

Little Cato tilted his head. “But I trained the normal amount.”

“There no way you…” Avocato stopped to study his son carefully. Little Cato wasn’t a liar. If he _had_ been overdoing things, he would have simply apologized, he wouldn’t have denied it.

On a hunch, he reach out and put a hand against Little Cato’s forehead. “What are you doing?”

The heat radiated from Little Cato confirmed his suspicions. “You’re sick.”

“Am not,” Little Cato said, “I don’t get sick.”

“Yes you do,” Avocato countered, “You’re sick right now.”

“I’m not sick if I say I’m not sick,” Little Cato stumbled trying to back away from his father’s touch. “I don’t have a fever.”

Avocato extended his paw to feel Little Cato’s forehead again. “My paw says otherwise, son.”

“Your hand is a liar.”

The soldier sighed. “Alright, you’re going to go lay down.”

Little Cato groaned. “No.”

“Yes,” Avocato replied as he stood up.

“Nooooo.”

Avocato scooped up his tiny son and started walking out of the training area. “ _Yes_.”

“ _Noooooooooo_ -”

“Don’t make me ground you, boy.” Little Cato buried his face in his father’s shoulder and mumbled something unintelligible, but he didn’t argue anymore.

The kid was clearly miserable and tired. Avocato admired that he tried to tough out the sickness and keep training, but the poor thing looked like he was about to fall over. A nap would probably do him a lot of good.

How long would Little Cato have kept training if Avocato hadn’t come back? The ten year old probably would have worked himself to the point of passing out. Given how tired the kid was, it seemed like he was already pretty close.

Avocato held his feverish son tighter, boredom forgotten, and _very_ happy to have nothing else to do.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if Invictus didn’t possess Avocato and instead possessed Little Cato?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve actually put some thought into this one. (probably a little too much thought, honestly) I’m glad this ask came along so I can indulge in some of my ideas, lol.

Little Cato felt his heart skip a beat or three as Avocato fired a shot into Gary’s side. “Dad! What are you doing?!”

“Killing a no good _thief!”_ Gary rolled over and held his side, gushing blood and spilling onto the ground.

Before his father could raise his gun again, Little Cato dove forward and grabbed cold metal. “Stop this!” He shouted. “This isn’t you!”

Avocato snarled at him. “He turned you against me!” The gun was ripped away from Little Cato. He barely managed to dodge a kick that would have sent him flying backwards. Keeping himself firmly planted between his fathers, he tried to figure out how he was going to get them out of this mess.

“Avocato!” Gary shouted weakly. “Whatever that thing is, it’s poisoning your mind!” Little Cato heard him moving, probably trying to sit up. “You _asked_ me to look after your boy. We _broke time_ to save you, we’re _friends!”_

Little Cato held his breath as Avocato fell silent for a moment. Was he listening to Gary? Or was he listening to Invictus in his head. His question was answered as soon as Avocato stepped forward and yelled. _“I’m not your friend!”_

“Dad, stop!” Little Cato moved to stand in Avocato’s way, unwilling to let his corrupted father get another clear shot at Gary. “Just stop! Please, _stop!”_

Avocato shifted the position of his gun to Little Cato. On instinct, Little Cato drew his own blaster and pointed it at his father’s chest. “You would choose _him_ over your _own father?”_

“Please,” Little Cato pleaded, “If you’re in there, _stop this.”_

“I would _never_ father something so _weak,”_ Avocato spat, “You’re no son of _mine!”_

The gun in Little Cato’s hand shook. “I _am_ your son. I _am.”_ His voice cracked, “And I always will be.” He kept the gun raised. “But I can’t let you do this.”

“You think you can stop me?” Avocato demanded. “Gary _will_ die here, and then _you’ll_ be next!”

Little Cato’s breath hitched. “No… y-you’re not my father…”

 _“Neither is he!”_ Avocato roared angrily.

“Little Cato, get back!” Gary shouted. “Get out of here.” He ignored his father and racked his brain for a solution.

Avocato needed to be dealt with, but Gary needed help. He could take Gary back to the ship, but he didn’t want to leave Avocato either. And he refused to leave both of them behind.

If Gary had taught him anything, it was that there was _always_ a way to do both. Always, always, always. He just had to figure out how.

Invictus only took Avocato because he was the stronger vessel, right? So all Little Cato had to do was make Avocato weak enough that Invitus wouldn’t want him. But Invictus would still want another vessel, otherwise he’d just take Avocato injuries and all.

A plan started to form in his mind. He took a shaky breath and lowered his gun slightly. “Sorry, Dad,” he whispered. He closed his eyes and pulled the trigger, flinching at the sound of his father’s pained grunt.

His eyes reopened at Gary’s shout of alarm. “Avocato?!”

“Don’t worry,” Little Cato tried to make his voice strong, “That won’t kill him. But it’ll prove a point.” He wouldn’t kill Avocato, but Invictus didn’t have to know that.

A laugh tore from Avocato as he pointed to the hole in his side, directly opposite of Gary’s. “You missed.”

“No. That was a warning.” Little Cato corrected. “Invictus only needs you because you’re a stronger vessel than Gary. All I have to do is make you the weaker option.”

Avocato sneered. “You think you can beat-”

Little Cato fired another shot to Avocato’s shoulder. Again, not lethal, but it was going to hurt like hell when Avocato came to. “I’m done talking to _you_ , Dad.”

“Spider-Cat?” Gary asked. “What the hell are you doing?”

Little Cato swallowed, putting on his best poker-face, and made his proposal. “Invictus, I’ve already killed my father once. He’s not even supposed to _be_ alive, and I know a time-traveler that might actually appreciate me fixing the timeline.”

Avocato growled. “You insolent-”

“I’m offering a trade,” Little Cato interrupted. “You know the insane amount of _hell_ I’ve been through? I _guarantee_ you that my mind is stronger than his _or_ Gary’s.” He gestured to his almost uninjured body. “And as far as physical strength goes, I’m the only one here that doesn’t have a bullet hole.”

Gary seemed to realize what was happening. “Little Cato, no! Don’t do this!”

“So what do you say, Invictus?” Little Cato asked. “I been training all my life. I’m a fighter, a hacker, a pilot, and best of all,” he pointed to Gary and Avocato. “They won’t _touch_ you if they know it’ll hurt me too.”

“Little Cato, _please,_ ” Gary begged. “Don’t do this! We’ll figure this out _together,_ you don’t have to do this alone! Please-”

“Shut up!” Little Cato fought back tears. “I’m not losing you guys again!” He raised his gun. “Invictus! Do we have a deal or not?!”

A ghostly voice invaded his mind. _“Tired of losing,”_ it repeated. _“You’ve lost **everything** , time and time again, you’ve been the victim of others’ foolishness and selfishness. The universe has **never** been kind to you.”_

The gun slipped though Little Cato’s fingers. His head felt like it was exploding, but he couldn’t make a sound. Through the pain, he knew Invictus was right: he _was_ the victim. Always the victim…

 _“Everyone leaves you eventually,”_ Invictus’ haunting voice continued, _“They leave you alone, leave you with **nothing**.” _Little Cato felt something rising in his chest, not quite anger, but something close. _“It’s **your** turn to take everything. Take your happiness for yourself. **Nothing** can stand in your way.”_

Little Cato felt a smile spread across his face. What _was_ stopping him from doing what he wanted, _taking_ what he wanted? He was far more capable than anyone knew. He survived torture after torture and always came out of it.

He had lost too many times. Maybe, just once, he wanted to _win_.

Gary watched in horror as wisps of sickening pink wrapped around his son. “Little Cato! No!”

Avocato fell to his knees, holding his side and letting out a guttural cry of pain. “What the hell-” He caught sight of Little Cato, his horror a mirror of Gary’s. “Oh no…”

Little Cato began chuckling, a quiet sound that bled into the empty air, escalating into a deranged laugh that echoed all around them. “What’s the matter, dads?” Little Cato grinned. “Scared?”

Adrenaline flowed through Gary’s veins, giving him the strength to stand. “Spider-Cat? Can you hear me? Don’t let him get to you!”

Avocato held his shoulder and stood unsteadily. “You beat the Lord Commander, remember? You can fight this, Little Cato.”

Little Cato raised an eyebrow. “Now _why_ would I want to do _that_?” He asked. “I finally get to _win.”_

“Win?” Gary had terrible flashbacks to someone else who liked to play games. Someone that Little Cato hated more than anyone. “Kid, this isn’t you.”

“Maybe not,” Little Cato agreed. Black pooled around him, spiraling around his arms and legs. “But maybe I’m tired of playing nice.”

“Son,” Avocato tried. “Please…”

Little Cato peered at him with glowing eyes. “Please _what?”_ He sneered.

“Please come back to me,” Avocato managed to say through the emotion in his throat. “I’m so sorry.”

His son studied him carefully, the eerie still splitting his face. _“You will be,”_ Little Cato promised. Then he vaished into the inky blackness, leaving the two injured fathers alone in the deafening silence.

Gary felt like collapsing back onto the ground, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get back up if he did. He looked to his friend, who stared at the ground where Little Cato had disappeared.

His finally gaze rose to meet Gary’s. They couldn’t say anything, but the expressions on their faces were enough.

They had lost him.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How about Gary comforting Avocato after his son was possessed by Invictus and taken away?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ?!!???!! oh wat? I get to continue this??? Okay, but I warn you: nobody’s having a good time here.

Gary and Avocato stumbled out of the airlock, trying to support each other as best they could with the matching holes in their sides, plus Avocato’s extra blast to the shoulder. “Nightfall!” Gary shouted, pulling off his helmet and helping Avocato with his.

Someone rounded the corner, Avocato assumed Nightfall, but his recently returned memory recognized her as… “Quinn?”

“Not quite,” Nightfall replied, “The Quinn from this timeline is gone.”

“This timeline,” Avocato replied dumbly. “But I… you…” His brain felt like it was it was malfunctioning. It was almost too much trying to keep track of everything that was happening.

Gary shook him. “Come on, man. Stay with us, man.”

Nightfall finally seemed to notice the wounds. “Oh my god!” She grabbed Gary by the arm and steadied him. “What happened to you two out there.”

“Uh…” Gary looked like he was having a hard time focusing as well. “There was… I saw…” He shook his head. “Actually, could we get to medbay first and talk about this in a minute?”

“Right.” Nightfall turned to shout down the hallway. “Fox! I need your help!”

The Tryvuulian peeked around the corner. “What happened to _you_ guys?”

Nightfall shouldered Gary and said, “Fox. Medbay.”

Fox nodded and offered and arm to Avocato, which he accepted reluctantly. The Tryvuulian might have been talking to him, but all he could hear was his son’s voice. _‘I finally get to **win**.’_

“Avocato!” The Ventrexian looked up, nearly blinding himself with the bright lights of medbay. “You’re losing a lot of blood,” Nightfall warned, “I need you to stay awake. Can you do that?”

“I-”

Gary reached over and grabbed his paw. “Avocato, I know you’re super overwhelmed. I am too. But right now we need to _not_ go into shock _._ So can you stay awake or not?”

Avocato took a shaky breath. “Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.”

“Good,” Nightfall said. “I already sealed the holes off, so you’re not gonna lose any _more_ blood, but you both need to lie down for a while.”

“But Little Cato is-”

Nightfall crossed her arms. “You’re not gonna be _any_ help to Little Cato like _this,”_ she pointed out. “Just rest, alright? You can explain everything to me once you’ve rested up.”

Avocato turned to Gary as soon as she left the medbay. “Gary, we _have_ to go after him.”

Gary hesitated. “Avocato we have _no_ idea where he went.” He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “We have Dimensional Keys to find still, which my _mother_ friggin’ stole, we have to free Bolo and rescue Quinn-”

“I don’t know who the hell Bolo is!” Avocato snapped. “I don’t care, either. That’s our _son_ out there, Gary!”

“I know that,” Gary said patiently. “But Invictus is going to be hunting us down anyways, right? So we might as well keep doing what we’re doing, and let Invictus bring Little Cato to us.”

Avocato buried his face in his hands. “I can’t _believe_ I let Invictus get to him. How could I let this happen?”

“You?” Gary asked. “I can’t believe _I_ let him get out! He used _me_ to get out of that place.”

“But I-”

Gary sighed in frustration. “Look, I’m not gonna play the blame game with you, Avocato. This sucks. You finally get your memory back, you _finally_ remember your son, and then two minutes later you lose him.

“But think about how Little Cato’s feeling right now, okay? Every bad thing he’s ever felt is being amplified by, like, a _thousand._ You know that, you _felt_ that, _I_ felt that.” Gary’s expression saddened. “And that kid already had enough bad to feel _without_ Invictus’ help.

“We’re _going_ to save him,” Gary promised, “But we can’t do anything like this. We’ll find the Keys and let Invictus come to us. We can free Bolo _and_ save Little Cato. We’ll do both.”

Avocato choked out a laugh, remembering Gary’s promise to Quinn before the two of them flew off to find Little Cato. “Yeah, both. Never did like choosing one over other, did you?”

Gary smiled weakly. “Yeah, well, I’m a pretty hopeful person.” The smile faded. “And I’m not too keen on losing our kid. Not after everything we went through.”

He didn’t like it, but Gary was right. They weren’t going to have much luck tracking Invictus down. Their best bet was to let the evil thing find _them._ And _then_ they could find a way to save Little Cato.

“Alright, Gary,” Avocato relented, “I don’t like it, but we’ll do things your way.” He raised an eyebrow. “Now how about you get me caught up on what the hell has been happening on around here since I’ve been gone?”

Gary laughed nervously. “Alright, you’re gonna want to strap yourself in for this mess, because it is a _wreck.”_


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that we’ve had avocato and little cato with ptsd and nightmares about his death. WE NEED GARY WITH PTSD AND NIGHTMARES ABOUT AVOCATO’S DEATH! only to complete the family cycle of trauma :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> complete the trifecta of traumatized boys. it simply must be done.

Little Cato had made a habit of sleeping in one of his father’s rooms if he was having a particularly bad night. No nightmares yet, but Little Cato was afraid to be alone regardless. He just had a bad feeling.

Tonight he was curled up with Gary. His human father tossed and turned and muttered in his sleep, but Little Cato didn’t mind it. He preferred it, actually. It reassured him that Gary was _alive._ Which was a strange thing to need reassurance for, especially since he _knew_ Gary was safe at the moment, but fear always got the better of him.

So when Gary suddenly froze and didn’t move for a few minutes, Little Cato immediately panicked and sat up. “Dad? Dad, wake up.” He shook Gary’s shoulder. “Dad!”

Little Cato placed his paw over Gary’s chest, relieved to feel the heartbeat, but less relieved at how fast paced it was. He had never seen his dad so scarily _still._ It must have been a nightmare, a really bad one from the looks of it.

Unsure of what to do, he took his father’s hand and waited. Gary occasionally twitched or grit his teeth, but he didn’t move, and he didn’t wake up. Fighting back panic, Little Cato decided to sit with Gary and just wait it out. This couldn’t last forever, right?

Not forever, but long enough to _feel_ like forever. Little Cato almost didn’t notice when Gary’s eyes snapped open. “Little Cato?”

“Dad!” Little Cato gave Gary’s hand a squeeze. “What happened? Nightmare? You went really still and your heart was beating super fast and… a-and…” Little Cato leaned forward. “Whoa, hey, are you okay? You’re crying.”

Gary wiped under his eyes with the hand Little Cato wasn’t holding, looking surprised at the teardrops. “Oh, that’s… I don’t know why-” His hand moved to clutch his shirt. “It’s- um…”

Little Cato noticed Gary’s breathing begin to grow shallower. “Dad, breathe.” He already knew what was happening. It had happened to him more times than he cared to count.

Gary was having a panic attack.

“I… I can’t-” Gary’s eyes grew wide with my panic. “I should have stopped him, I should’ve-

“Dad, look at me.” Little Cato let go of Gary’s and gently cupped his father’s face in his paws. “Focus on _me,_ okay? You’re gonna get through this, and everything’s gonna be okay.”

Gary shook his head. “No, no, no… it’s _not_ okay. It’s not-”

Little Cato hugged his father around the shoulders and pulled him close. “It _is_ okay. Dad’s here, Quinn’s here, _you’re_ here. We’re _all_ here.” He ran his paw through Gary’s hair comfortingly. “Nightmares suck, I _know_ they suck, but you gotta breathe, okay?”

He felt Gary’s arms slowly reach up and hug him back. “Thanks Spider-Cat,” he whispered, “Sorry I freaked out on you there for a second.”

Little Cato continued to card through Gary’s hair. “Don’t apologize, man. It was just a panic attack, that’s all. It happens to everyone.”

Gary pulled away and ruffled Little Cato’s hair. “Well, thanks anyway.”

“No problem,” Little Cato replied. “You wanna talk about it? I’m gonna assume it was something about my dad.”

“Yeah, it was.” Gary sighed, “After he took that bomb to the chest I felt like… I felt like I failed somehow. Like I should have done something.”

“ _Done_ something? When in the _three seconds_ it took for that bomb to explode did you think you were gonna be able to stop him?” Little Cato asked. “And even if you _could_ have stopped him, we both know he wouldn’t have _let_ you.”

Gary smiled. “I guess you’re right.” He rubbed away the last of his tears. “And we’ve got him back now, so that’s something.”

“Exactly,” Little Cato said, “Focus on the good stuff.” He held out a fist for Gary to bump. “I got your back, Thunder Bandit. Nightmares and all.”

Gary gave him a bump and then scooped him into another hug. “Dunno what I’d do without you, son.”

Little Cato closed his eyes and smiled. He was pretty helpless when it came to his _own_ panic. But helping other people with theirs? _That_ he could do.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One-shot idea. Gary has a nightmare about his father and refuses to talk to anyone at all, meanwhile the rest of the team squad is worried and scared shitless about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sheryl tries to mom. The results remain to be seen.

Sheryl wasn’t sure what was going on with Gary, but he seemed off.

Not that she knew much about her son’s behavior–or _anything_ about him, really. But in the short amount of time that she had known him, he had been a pretty expressive, outgoing, _happy_ person.

There was something different about him today. He was too quiet, too withdrawn. It was making everyone uncomfortable. “Hey, kid.” She nudged Little Cato. “You’ve known my kid for a while. What’s going on with him?”

Little Cato shrugged. “I dunno. He just gets like this sometimes.”

“Quiet?”

“Sad.” Little Cato said. “He might just be thinkin’ about some stuff, I don’t know. I just know he’s sad.”

Sheryl frowned. She didn’t know why it bothered her so much to know that Gary was upset. Is this what it was like to be a mother? To be worried? She wasn’t so sure she was equipped for that yet.

“You know,” Little Cato interrupted her thought, “You _could_ always just go ask him.”

“Well, why don’t _you?”_ Sheryl asked.

Little Cato deflated. “I already tried. So did Quinn. And Dad.”

Sheryl crossed her arms. “So what makes you think he’ll talk to me?”

“I don’t think it matters if he does or doesn’t talk to you,” Little Cato mused, “But when he comes out of whatever slump he’s in, he’s gonna remember that you tried.” He tilted his head. “And that’s what you’re going for here, right? Trying?”

The kid, frustratingly, was making sense. “Alright, you’ve made your point.” She started heading in the direction Gary went. The closer she got to Gary’s room, the more she doubted herself. What did she know about sympathy? What did she know about Gary? What did she know about _anything?_

Gary didn’t answer when she knocked, but she kind of figured that would happen. “Gary, your friends are worried about ya. ‘Cause you haven’t been talkin’ to anyone and… you’re not answering the door, so…” She was the most notorious criminal in the universe and she couldn’t form a complete sentence? God, this was pathetic. “I’m uh- I’m exercising my right as your parent to… ah, screw it.”

Sheryl opened the door without waiting for an answer. Her son was simply sitting in the floor, knees pulled up to his chest. His eyes were closed, not asleep, but he didn’t seem to have heard her come in.

“Gary?” She knelt in front of him and waved a hand in front of his face. “Sweetheart, can you hear me?” She grabbed his arm. “Gary!”

He still didn’t answer, or give any indication that he could even hear her. Sheryl didn’t exactly know what was happening. She didn’t know how to fix it, but she didn’t feel comfortable leaving him like this either. So she took a seat next to him and leaned against the metal bed frame.

“Alright, fine,” Sheryl said to her unresponsive son, “Guess I’ll just… wait here, then.”

And wait she did, for five whole minutes, which is when Gary suddenly gasped and jolted so hard that he ended up bumping into her. “”What the- Mom! What are you doing in here?”

Sheryl rubbed her arm where Gary had elbowed it. “I was about to ask ya the same thing. Been cooped up in here for a while now.”

Gary narrowed his eyes. “You’re… checking on me?”

“Yes. I know it’s thirty-two years late, but I’m checking on my son.” She ran a hand through her messy hair. “Look, I’m new to this, alright?”

“No, that’s… that’s great.” Gary managed a sarcastic, “I’m _so_ proud of you.”

Sheryl rolled her eyes. “Oh, hush, you.” Now came the harder part. “Now, do you wanna talk about what that was, or…?”

The smile immediately fell from Gary’s face. “If I’m being real here, this is all over some freaky dream I had a couple of nights ago. It’s dumb. Honestly, I’m pleasantly surprised you came to check on me at all, you don’t have to sit here and talk to me.”

“But I _want_ to.” She wasn’t sure what she was more shocked about: the fact that she said it, or the fact that she kinda _meant_ it. “So are ya gonna tell me what’s goin’ on in that head of yours or not?”

Gary hesitated. “Do you know… where we are? Like, what’s outside?”

“Final Space,” Sheryl said, “And for some reason, there’s a lot of corpses of you out there.”

“Right, well, there is a reason for that.” Gary fidgeted. “You remember Nightfall?”

Sheryl nodded. “The older version of your girlfriend.”

Gary shrugged. “Yes, but also no. She was from a different timeline. Actually, she went through a _bunch_ of different timelines trying to save me.” He gaze darted to the window. “Because uh… my timeline’s the _only_ one where Quinn set off the anti-bomb. Every other time it was…”

Realization struck. “You?” Her stomach twisted at the thought of Gary setting off a bomb, knowing the end result was right outside the window. “Why? _How?”_

“I don’t know. Not all the timelines are the same.” He chuckled under his breath. “I mean, in Nightfall’s timeline, I was actually part of the Infinity Guard. Wild, huh?”

Sheryl remembered the images HUE had shown her, specifically the one where she had watched him graduate. “Maybe not _so_ wild.”

“Well, in any case, I never made it. Obviously.” He frowned at yet another rotting corpse. “But Quinn and I weren’t the only ones who set off an anti-matter bomb.”

Oh. This was about… “John.”

“Dad, yeah.” Gary took an unsteady breath. “I mean, I know he’s dead. I was _there_ , I _saw_ it happen, I _watched_ him set off the bomb.” Before Sheryl could question it, Gary waved her off. “Bolo shot me back in time, I was _literally_ there. And then there was the time I almost- well, I guess I _did_ die.” Again, Sheryl was tempted to question, but refrained. “But I saw him there. And we were definitely dead, him and me both.

“But I can’t help but wonder, like… did he die _immediately_ or did he survive for a while after? Was he just… floating around in here like Quinn? Did he _see_ the Titans? Did he see _Invictus?_ Did he see…” He gestured vaguely. _“Those?”_ He let his arm rest on his knees. “And that’s basically what the nightmare was, I guess.

“I just pictured him in here, alone. Surrounded by corpses of _me_. The guy he _knows_ is his son because I had just come to him from the future to help close the breach in space.” He looked at her. “You don’t think he was stuck in here, do you?”

Sheryl shook her head, completely mystified. “I… I hope not,” she said finally, “That’d be… Christ.”

“Awful,” Gary finished. “And I can’t stop thinking about it.” He tugged at his hair anxiously. “I _know_ I shouldn’t think about it, but I can’t… it’s not going away and I can’t-”

“Gary,” Sheryl reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re not gonna slip off again are ya?”

“I uh… I mean I-I don’t _want_ to,” Gary answered shakily, “But um…”

Sheryl tried to think of something to keep Gary talking. She didn’t want him going back inside his head. “Tell me about your father. Tell me how _you_ remember him.”

Gary looked like he was struggling to focus. “H-how I…” He shook his head. “Um… he was a really good cook? Especially-”

“Baking!” Sheryl exclaimed. “That man loved baking more than anything in the world! John was the kindest person I ever knew, but I swear the man would kill for-”

“Chocolate chip cookies?” Gary asked hesitantly.

Sheryl laughed. “Always chocolate chip. He looked at me like I was crazy because I suggested butterwheat crunch once.”

Gary’s face scrunched up. “Well duh, that’s not a cookie.”

“It is so!” Sheryl protested. “Don’t tell me he’s passed that along to you now.”

“He did,” Gary said, “And he’s right! It’s not a cookie!”

“Is so!”

“Is not!”

“Is so!”

“Is not!”

They stared each other down for a few seconds before dissolving into laughter. It was a desperate kind of laugh, the kind people could only share in the wake of a lost loved one.

Maybe this was why Gary wouldn’t talk to his friends. Maybe he needed somebody who knew John. Like, _really_ knew John. Not the hero, just the kind, caring person that he was.

And then Sheryl thought… maybe Gary _didn’t_ need just somebody.

Maybe he just needed _her_.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> uhhhmhmjlots of angst one shots lately i see,,,you should write something fluffy w/ gary, avocato, & little cato,,.., you can never go wrong with those 3 interacting in a cute/happy way right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I believe this is what's known as a "crack-fic". To put it plainly, it's just pure ridiculousness.

Avocato hadn’t seen much of the arcade, but when he heard Quinn and Gary shouting from that general direction, he figured it was worth investigating.

Though when he found Quinn and Gary, he was confused. They were peering into vents and calling out Little Cato’s name. “What’s going on here?”

Quinn looked at Gary. “You wanna explain? Or should I?”

Gary took a deep breath. “Don’t be mad-”

“Already off to a bad start,” Quinn commented.

“Okay, I didn’t know a root beer float was going to give him a friggin’ sugar high, _Quinn_ ,” Gary said, “I just thought ‘Hey! Little Cato’s never heard of a root beer float before, maybe he should try one.’”

“He didn’t have _a_ root beer float, Gary,” Quinn shot back. “He had five of them because somebody left him alone at the soda parlor!”

Avocato looked at Gary in confusion. “What the hell is a root beer float?”

“Is this seriously just an Earth thing? There is a soda parlor on this _alien_ _ship,_ and you’re telling me no one has had a float ever?!”

“It’s ice cream and soda,” Quinn answered for him. “Basically just caffeine and sugar.”

“But root beer doesn’t have caffeine in it,” Avocato interrupted.

“So you’ve heard of root beer, but _not_ a root beer float,” Gary muttered, “That makes perfect sense

Quinn and Avocato ignored Gary. “Usually it doesn’t,” Quinn said, “But turns out the ship is stocked with a Earthen root beer called Barq’s, which does.”

Avocato shot Gary a look. Gary shrugged sheepishly in response. “I didn’t know it’d affect him this bad, otherwise I wouldn’t have given it to him.”

“Great,” Avocato said, “How long has it been since you’ve seen him last?”

“Fifteen minutes?”

Avocato bit back a frustrated growl. He loved Gary, lovable idiot that he was, but he was about two seconds from punching his co-parent in the face. “Alright, let’s just find him before-”

“GARY!!”

The three adults turned to see Ash and Fox running towards them. “Ash? Fox? What’s wrong, are you okay?” Gary asked.

Ash’s eye was wide with panic. “I think something’s wrong with Little Cato.”

Fox nodded. “Yeah, I don’t know _what_ happened to him, but he’s tearin’ through the ship like a _madman!”_

“He knocked HUE over just a few minutes ago,” Ash said, “And Sheryl, too.”

Gary fought back a laugh. “Wait, seriously? He knocked over my mom?”

“Gary,” Quinn said firmly.

He shook his head. “Right, right, right. Focused, I’m focused.” He looked back to Fox and Ash. “Do you know where he went?”

_‘I do.’_

“AVA?” Avocato was still unused to her voice. And HUE with a body was weird too. “Where’d he go?”

 _‘He’s currently in the ventilation system,’_ she replied, _‘But he’s heading for the bridge as we speak.’_

Avocato was going to kill Gary. “Let’s go before he gets into the control room.”

 _‘You won’t beat him there,’_ AVA said helpfully.

Fox and Ash backed away. “Y’all have fun with that,” Fox said, “We’re staying far away from that little hell cat.”

“Yeah,” Ash agreed, “I’m gonna stay here and play games.” Avocato wasn’t too reassured by that, but he figured it couldn’t be all _that_ bad. Right?

Quinn gave Gary a smug smile as they ran for the control room. “I told you to wait and ask Avocato but noooo, you just _had_ to give the hyper kid caffeine, didn’t you?”

“Now is not the time, Quinn!” Gary said. “AVA! Is he in the control room?”

 _‘Yes,’_ AVA replied, _‘Though I would advise against entering the bridge at this time.’_

Avocato halted outside the door to the bridge. “Why?”

_‘Little Cato appears to be trying to take over the ship.’_

“That means we should most definitely be in there!” Gary exclaimed. “Open the door!” Not needing a second prodding, Avocato opened the door and ran in, his gaze darting around to find his kid. “Avocato, look out!”

He barely had time to register Gary’s warning before something dropped onto his back. “INTRUDERS!!”

“Little Cato?!” Avocato reached back and pulled the kid off his shirt. “What are you doing?”

Eyes shining with glee, Little Cato said, “I’m takin’ over the ship! This is my ship now!” He managed to wriggle out of Avocato’s grasp. “This is my ship, and y’all are intruding!”

Gary crossed his arms. “I don’t think so, mister. _I’m_ the captain around here.”

Little Cato climbed onto the captain’s seat and put his hands on his hips. “I, Little Cato, declare this ship mine! Forfeit the ship to me, for I am the superior captain!”

“You can’t do that!” Gary protested.

Quinn interjected, “Sure he can. Provided the grounds on which he claims to be a better captain are supported.”

Avocato turned to her incredulously. “You’re _encouraging_ this?”

She shrugged. “I’m curious.”

“I know how to pilot the ship.” Little Cato spun the chair in circles. “Oh, and I know how to fix it, too! _And_ I have the most experience out of everyone here.”

Quinn frowned. “I’ll grant you the first two, but not that last one, I’m pretty sure you’re the youngest one here.”

Little Cato stopped spinning in the chair. “First of all, how dare you.” He pointed at Quinn disapprovingly. “And second of all, respect your elders! I am seventy-four years old, and I _will_ kick your butt!”

Avocato rolled his eyes at his sons caffeine-induced antics. “Okay, now you’re just being ridi-”

“No, he’s actually right about that one,” Gary interjected. “Long story. Explain later, grab kid now.”

“Ooooooh, I _like_ this game!” Little hopped out of the chair and braced himself to run. “You shall not defeat the captain!”

Gary cracked his knuckles. “Oh ho, you wanna bet?”

Quinn looked at Gary apprehensively. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Something my old man used to do with me whenever I had energy to burn,” Gary said, “Wrestling match.”

Avocato put a hand on Gary’s shoulder. “Nope. Bad idea. Gary, as your friend and the co-parent with the most experience: do not.”

“Too late! We’re doing it!” Gary and Little Cato ran at each other, Little Cato launching himself into Gary’s chest.

The kid was light enough that Gary barely stumbled, the real problem was when Little Cato scrambled over his shoulder, grabbed his arm and pulled it back. It wasn’t enough to really hurt, but it was enough that Gary could no longer use it.

Gary tried to pull Little Cato off like Avocato had, but it was considerably harder with his arm wrenched behind him. “Hey! Get off me!”

Little Cato cackled and jumped off, still holding Gary’s arm. With a small Ventrexian attached to the end of his arm, Gary was off balance and fell easily, landing hard on his rear.

“Ow! You little-” Gary stood and started aggressively taking off his jacket. “Alright, let’s go for real!” But as soon as his jacket was about halfway off, the idiot managed to get himself stuck somehow.

Avocato crossed his arms. “This’ll end bad.” He glanced at Quinn. “Should we stop him?”

“Nah. I’m interested to see where this goes.”

And where it went was Little Cato grabbing the ends of Gary’s half empty sleeves, still flapping in the air from where Gary had partially shrugged it off, and tying them into a knot. “Oh what the-? What is this?!” Gary struggled with his tied sleeves. “Explain to me how I’m supposed to get this off!”

“You don’t!” Little Cato giggled.

Quinn sighed. “Okay, now we intervene.” She gently nudged Little Cato to the side and untied Gary’s sleeves. “How about we find a different way to burn Little Cato’s energy.”

Gary readjusted his jacket and harrumphed. “Alright, like what? He’s about to vibrate through the wall!”

“I can see into another dimension,” Little Cato said to Avocato while Quinn and Gary bickered.

Avocato patted his head, hoping Quinn would come up with something to wear out this kid. “No, you can’t.”

“I can see it,” Little Cato whispered, “The floating roots of beer have shown me worlds beyond worlds.”

There was no response to that other than, “No.” Nothing had prepared him for this part of parenting. There wasn’t a book on ‘How To Deal With Your Kid on a Caffeine High’.

Little Cato bounced on heels. “I’ve never felt so alive.”

“You’ve got too much pent up energy,” Avocato said, “Why don’t we go for a walk or-”

His son suddenly waved his arms in the air frantically. “Oh! _Oh!_ Pent up energy! Need to release!” He pointed up at the ceiling and shouted. “AVA!”

_‘Yes?’_

“The captain demands Loggins!”

Gary pumped both fists into the air, startling Quinn. “Oh, hell yeah, Spider-Cat! Let’s get some _tunes_ up in here!”

“What’s a Loggins?” Avocato asked.

“Gary does he mean _Kenny_ Loggins?” Quinn said in disbelief.

“What’s a Kenny Loggins?!” Avocato was growing more confused with each passing second.

“LoggiiiiaaaaaaAAAAAHAHAHA!!” Little Cato broke into excited laughter as music started blaring over the ship’s sound system.

Avocato stared as Gary and Little Cato started dancing in a weirdly synchronized way. “What is happening?”

Quinn sighed. “It’s an old song from Earth called Footloose. It’s stupidly catchy and it _will_ be in your head all day.”

“Dance with me!” Gary took Quinn by the hand and swung her around.

Little Cato followed suit by grabbing his hand. “Dad, dance with us!”

“I don’t-”

“Obey your captain!” Little Cato demanded. “Dance with us!”

Avocato couldn’t help the laugh that slipped through. He still didn’t dance, but he watched Little Cato, Quinn, and Gary dance around the control room. At one point, Avocato even found himself humming along.

Quinn was right. This song really _was_ stupidly catchy. He didn’t even notice that it was playing on loop until the fourth time through, _that’s_ how catchy is was.

After fifth playthrough was over, Little Cato clapped his hands. “Yes! Aw, that was awesome!”

“Sounds like you’re starting to come down a little.” Avocato noticed.

“A little bit.” Little Cato rubbed his eyes. “Man, that wore me out. How’d that wear me out so bad?”

Quinn patted his head. “You’re about to crash.”

“Crash?” Little Cato asked. “I don’t wanna crash.”

Gary laughed. “She means you’re about to be _real_ tired.”

“Oh… yeah, that sounds about right.” Little Cato rubbed his eyes again. “Note to self: limit the caffeine and sugar.”

Avocato put a hand on Little Cato’s shoulder. “Wanna go lay down?”

Little Cato nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“Good.” Avocato ushered him out of the room. “Because I’m gonna punch Gary in the face now.”

His son paused outside the control room. “Wha-”

“Nothing, go lay down.” Avocato closed the door and turned to Gary.

Gary shrank away. “Are you gonna punch me now?”

“No,” Avocato admitted, “But the next time you wanna give our kid something full of sugar, either moderate him or come ask me first.”

Sighing in relief, Gary said, “Deal.”

Quinn smiled and rolled her eyes. “Told you so, you moron.”

“Hey!”


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fancontent of just Quinn & Little Cato is pretty rare on tumblr, so maybe an Airmom oneshot? Topic can be whatever you want, angst or fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, who definitely hasn’t been waiting for a request with these two just to have an excuse to write them: “Ah. Yes. This is a doable prompt.”

Quinn was constantly trying to find something to do around the ship to keep her mind off of what was outside. Gary did his best to help her forget they were still floating around in Final Space, but it didn’t always work. Sometimes Loggins and arcade games just weren’t enough to block out the months of isolation.

Luckily, flying into a sun–and a collapsing dimension apparently–meant that there was plenty around the ship she could work on. Though the Crimson Light was far more advanced than what she was used to. The ships in the Infinity Guard weren’t anything like this thing, but that didn’t stop her from trying.

Right now, she was trying to get power to one of the hallways. Ash’s room was through here and evidently she wasn’t too fond of taking strolls through the dark to get to it.

Quinn thought she finally had something figured out when she heard, “I wouldn’t cross those two wires if I were you,” She glanced up to see Little Cato hovering over her. “You’ll lock up the door to Ash’s room. And she won’t appreciate it, trust me.”

He crouched next to her and scanned the mess of wiring and metal. He thread the wires through the mechanics, cutting and connecting them to different wires, seemingly at random. “Uh… do you know what you’re doing?”

Little Cato nodded wordlessly connected two more wires and the lights above them flickered on. “Yeah.”

Impressed, Quinn looked closer at his work. “Wow. Avocato teach you how to do that?”

“Nah,” Little Cato said.

“Oh. Gary then?”

Little Cato raised an eyebrow at her. “You think Gary knows how to-”

“Yeah, I realized what I said as soon as I said it.” Quinn helped him screw the plate of metal back in place. “So where’d you learn then?”

There was a pause. “I guess you could say I’m self-taught. The Crimson Light is a lot more advanced than most ships. Standard fixes don’t work sometimes, so I had to figure it out.”

“This thing is a _nightmare_ of wiring and delicate mechanics,” Quinn pointed out, “And you’ve been _flying_ in it. When did you have time to learn the ins and outs?”

Little Cato shrugged. “Found time. Here and there and whenever.” He sat cross-legged and leaned against the wall. “But enough about me. It’s been forever since we’ve talked.”

Quinn smiled and leaned back against the cool metal. “It really has, huh? What’s it been? A few months? Feels like years.”

“Or a lifetime,” Little Cato muttered.

“Hm?”

He waved it off. “Nothing.” Resting his elbows on his knees, he leaned forward and smiled. “Anyway, I noticed you’ve been wandering around for the past couple of days making repairs.”

“Trying to,” Quinn amended. “I’m not nearly as knowledgeable as you, though.”

“Well, that’s not really my point.” He gave her a knowing look. “You’re trying to distract yourself, right? Keep your mind off…” He nodded at a nearby window.

Quinn sighed. “That obvious, huh? Yeah, I guess I’ve been trying to keep busy.” She studied the teenager carefully. “You’re more… observant than I remember.”

“To be fair, we only knew each other for a few days,” Little Cato pointed out.

“And in those few days you threatened to, and I quote, _‘tear the Lord Commander a new butthole’_. Not to mention the flaming blue M&M you threatened to end,” Quinn replied. “You weren’t exactly the epitome of maturity, kid.”

Little Cato grinned. “Oh don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty far from mature.” His smile faded. “But uh…you know, things change. You change, I change, we all change.” He knocked against the wall behind him. “But one thing that’s _not_ gonna change is the condition of this ship if I keep letting you do the repairs on your own.”

Quinn chuckled. “Okay, _ouch,_ but you’re right. Mind giving me a few tips?”

“Sure thing.” Little Cato stood and offered a paw to help Quinn up. “I’ve been needing some help around here anyway, and it was either you or Sheryl.”

She took his paw and stood. “Glad to know I rank higher than Gary’s troubled mother.” Ruffling his hair playfully, she added, “But maybe you should go ahead and ask her for help about the more serious stuff? And just stick to _teaching_ me for now.”

Little Cato groaned. “Ugh, if I must.” He perked back up. “Hey! I think the hallway by the kitchen is out too. It’d be good practice, if you’re interested.”

“Sounds good to me, kid.” She gestured for him to walk. “Lead the way.”


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Since little cato is still so small Gary and Avocato walk around the bridge holding him when he gets horrible nightmares, maybe they take turns on a really bad night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, sometimes ya just gotta be held like a bappy.

A knock on the door pulled Gary from his sleep. He sat up blearily and rubbed his eyes to clear his vision. Another quiet knock snapped him out of his sleepy trance, he knew there was only one person who would be knocking on his door this late at night.

He kicked off his blanket and got up. “Hold on, I’m coming.” The door opened to reveal a shivering Little Cato, just what he was afraid of. “Hey, little buddy. What’s going on?”

Little Cato’s mouth opened to reply, but no sound came out. Gary could see the tears shining in his eyes. After about ten seconds of struggling to speak, Little Cato resorted to throwing his arms around Gary.

“Nightmare?” Gary asked. Little Cato was still unresponsive, so he wrapped his arms around the teenager’s shoulders. And as soon as Gary pulled Little Cato in for a hug, he started crying silently into Gary’s shirt. “Alright, alright. Shhh… you’re okay, Spider-Cat, I’ve got you.”

The worst ones were always when Little Cato couldn’t talk to him. Judging by how hard Little Cato was shaking, he could tell it was going to take a while for the kid to calm down enough to tell him what happened.

Luckily, Gary knew something that might help with that. “Let’s go for a walk, huh? We’re gonna go walk around the bridge.” He scooped up Little Cato easily. The kid was always lighter than he expected, much lighter than a fourteen year old should be.

But his small frame made him easy to carry, which is exactly what Gary did. He carried Little Cato all the way to the bridge, where he started pacing back and forth slowly, trying not to jostle him too much.

Gary shifted Little Cato to hold him with one hand, letting the other run through soft blue hair, messy with restlessness. He could feel Little Cato’s paw digging into his shirt, right over his heart. That nightmare must have been something awful.

“Gary?” He turned to see his co-father in the doorway. “What’s goin’ on ? Why are you up?” The Ventrexian’s gaze found Little Cato in Gary’s arms. “Is he…?”

“Nightmare,” Gary said. “It’s usually not this bad, but sometimes he just needs a little walk around the bridge.”

Avocato frowned. “It’s not _usually_ this bad?”

Gary sighed. “We really gotta get you caught up at some point.” He walked over to Avocato and tapped Little Cato on the shoulder. “Hey bud, Dad’s here. Wanna walk with him for a bit?”

Little Cato’s hand unclenched from Gary’s shirt just slightly, which he took as a yes. So Gary looked up at Avocato expectantly, but all he received was a blank stare in return.

“I… what?”

“You just _hold_ him, you idiot.”

“What if I drop him?” Avocato asked worriedly. “I haven’t carried him in forever and he’s shakin’ like a leaf.”

“Oh for crap’s sake, he’s fourteen, not an infant.” He gently pried Little Cato off of him and passed him over to Avocato. It had been a while since Avocato had carried his son around like this, so it took him a moment to readjust. “There, see? That’s not so hard.”

Little Cato buried his face in Avocato’s shoulder, his paw reaching up to hold Avocato’s shirt just like he had with Gary’s. “What’s he doing?”

Gary motioned for Avocato to walk with him. “Heartbeat. It’s just a confirmation to him that you’re, you know, _alive_. Helps him relax. Don’t worry, he does it to me all the time.”

They paced back and forth for a while, Avocato rubbing small circles into Little Cato’s back as they walked.

After about ten minutes of this, Gary noticed Little Cato starting to unbury his head from the crook of Avocato’s neck. “Hey there, Spider-Cat.”

Avocato stopped walking and glanced down at Little Cato. “You okay?”

Little Cato nodded.

Gary frowned and looked at Avocato, who mirrored his expression. They knew their son too well for this. “Try again, little bud.” He held out his arms. “Avocato, let me take him for a second.”

The transfer was much smoother this time, Avocato getting better at adjusting Little Cato’s weight. Once Gary had Little Cato settled in his arms, he and Avocato started walking again, trying to keep Little Cato has calm as possible.

“I know you don’t like asking for help,” Gary said, “And I know talking about it is hard. But it helps. Neither one of us mind listening, I promise.”

“He’s right,” Avocato agreed. “Whatever it is, you can talk about it.”

Little Cato took a steadying breath. “It was… I-I shot…”

Gary’s quickly darted to Avocato. His friend stared back at him in confusion. Sometimes Gary forgot that Avocato didn’t exactly remember his time possessed by Invictus.

A tremor ran through Little Cato’s body. “I’m so sorry,” he cried, “I didn’t want… I didn’t _mean_ to-”

“Okay, my turn,” Avocato said. Gary passed Little Cato over to him, trying to figure out how the hell he was going to explain this. Meanwhile Little Cato bawled into Avocato’s shirt, leaving the older Ventrexian speechless and visibly worried. “Little Cato? Come on, son, talk to me.”

Gary put a hand on his shoulder. “Give him a minute. This one… this is a tough one.”

Little Cato struggled to calm down again, but Gary and Avocato just kept their steady pace. Eventually it worked, Little Cato scrubbing at his ace to wipe away the stray tears. “Okay… I-I think I’m good to talk.” He pushed away from Avocato slightly. “You can put me down now.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” Little Cato said, “I need to uh… I need to be standing for this one.”

Gary knew exactly what was about to happen, and he knew it needed to happen, but that didn’t make him any less worried for his boy.

Little Cato stood in front of Avocato, looking like a little kid you just got into trouble. “Um… I know you don’t remember a lot about what happened while you were possessed.”

“Something else I need to be caught up on,” Avocato muttered.

“Right, well, I’m about to catch you up on some of it,” Little Cato said nervously. “See the first thing you did was um… well, you shot Gary.”

Avocato’s eyes widened. “What? I did?”.

“Yeah,” Gary confirmed, “Twice, actually.”

“Twice?”

Little Cato cleared his throat. “Yeah, twice. You didn’t kill him but you were uh… you were giving it your best shot.” He shifted uncomfortably. “I tried stopping you. But you didn’t exactly listen. I got in your way and you said that um… that Gary had turned me against you and… that you would never father something so weak.”

Avocato blanked. “I said what?”

“Yeah. It was… it felt pretty crappy,” Little Cato admitted, “But I know it wasn’t really you talking, so…”

“Son, don’t downplay that,” Avocato told him. “Possessed or not, that’s a _horrible_ thing to do. I get why you’d be upset.”

Little Cato laughed. “It’s not as bad as what I did next.”

Gary stepped forward. “Little Cato-”

“You wouldn’t stop,” Little Cato said, ignoring Gary’s attempt to intervene. “No matter what I said, you just kept moving towards Gary. And I couldn’t let you just… I didn’t know what else to do, so I…” He closed his eyes tightly, fists clenched at his sides. “Dad, I _shot_ you.”

Avocato stared at him. It wasn’t a confused stare, or even a surprised one, he just kept his gaze trained on Little Cato.

Little Cato crossed his arms and stared back. “Well? Say something.” When he didn’t get a response, he grew anxious. “Dad, did you even hear what I said? I said I _shot you.”_

“I heard what you said,” Avocato said in a soft voice.

“So say something!” Little Cato exclaimed. “W-why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Avocato, hold on a minute,” Gary interrupted. “Spider-Cat, I think you need to take a breather.”

Little Cato took a step back. “Are you mad? Because I’d understand if you are, i-it was… it was bad. I-I didn’t wanna do it, but I still _did_ it. I didn’t know what else to do a-and that’s not an excuse but…”

Gary moved to calm Little Cato, but Avocato was faster. He picked up their son easily and held the trembling teen tightly. Little Cato stared wide-eyed at nothing for a moment, looking momentarily terrified, then confused.

Once it was clear that his father wasn’t angry with him, Little Cato slowly returned the hug. Gary struggled to find something to say but he realized that, in this moment, words weren’t exactly necessary.

Avocato spoke volumes through action, but he wasn’t much for words. And Little Cato had a tough time talking things out, even with Gary. And though Gary was all for talking out feelings, maybe pacing around the bridge with him and Avocato was a quiet alternative when Little Cato couldn’t find his words.

Where Avocato failed with words, Gary succeeded, and where Gary failed trying to figure out the right thing to do, Avocato was a step ahead of him. It made the hard nights of parenting a lot easier, and hopefully the hard nights easier for Little Cato, too.

It was all about understanding. And how they communicated that understanding, with words or without, didn’t really matter. So long as Little Cato knew he safe, that was all that mattered to the two fathers pacing on the bridge.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You know that post you made about Little Cato knowing Avocato killed billions of people? Sounds like a decent idea for a oneshot, know what I'm sayin?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know what you’re saying. And you’re right! Little Cato figuring out his father committed genocide is an excellent prompt.

“Dad?”

Avocato smiled and turned to the teenager in the doorway. “Hey, Little Cato.” It was good to be able to talk to his son again. “Did you need something?”

“Yeah, actually, um…” He wrung his paws nervously. “Can I talk to you about something?”

“Of course.”

Little Cato sat down next to him and cleared his throat. “So uh… back on Kanopus Prime…”

Avocato immediately regretted agreeing to this conversation.

“You said… you said there were four billion people on that planet. And you said no one knows what happened to them, but…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “It kinda sounded like… I mean, I don’t wanna accuse you of lying or anything, but it sounded like maybe you do know what happened?”

Avocato’s heart skipped a beat. That wasn’t a question he wanted to answer. He had hid that information from Little Cato for a reason. Little Cato knew about some things, but he tried to protect his son from the worst of it.

“Was it the Lord Commander?” Little Cato asked. “I mean, that guy did a lot of messed up stuff, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he blew up a planet.” He took Avocato’s paw. “And I know you used to work for him, but that’s all in the past! You aren’t responsible for all the crazy things he did. So if it was the Lord Commander, then-”

“It wasn’t the Lord Commander.”

Little Cato squeezed his paw tighter. “Look, I know I kind of snapped at you, okay? When I said, ‘Maybe you killed them, remember that one?’, I was just upset, okay? Don’t take it to heart.”

“Son-”

“Dad.” Little Cato took a breath. “Dad, please, I just- I need you to tell me that you didn’t kill those people.”

Avocato closed his eyes. “I… I can’t do that.”

The silence drew out for longer than Avocato thought it would, and when he reopened his eyes, he saw Little Cato staring up at him with a mixture of horror and confusion. “You… what?”

“I said-”

His son dropped his paw and stood up, his confusion turning to anger. “I heard what you said,” Little Cato snapped. “I just really wish I hadn’t.”

“Little Cato, let me explain-”

“Explain what?” Little Cato exclaimed. “Genocide?!”

Guilt gripped Avocato’s chest. “Please, son, I didn’t mean… I-I wouldn’t have… it wasn’t-”

Little Cato narrowed his eyes. “What’s the matter, can’t come up with an excuse this time, huh?” He asked harshly. “Because there isn’t an excuse, is there? There’s no excuse for destroying an entire _planet_ full of people!”

“Son, please-” Little Cato backed away from him, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.

“I shoulda known,” he said bitterly. “You’d never let me go on missions with you or attened the Lord Commander’s speeches… I _always_ had to stay at the base, and it was all so you could _hide_ what you did from me!”

“I didn’t want you to get involved,” Avocato explained, “You were too young.”

Little Cato bristled. “What? And the kids on Kanopus Prime _weren’t?”_

Avocato opened his mouth to say something, but Little Cato started walking away. “Little Cato, wait-”

“No! You don’t get to…” He waved his hands angrily, struggling to form words. “You don’t get to try and justify this one.” He looked down at his father. “Killing people, alright? I get it. You were a soldier, and that’s what soldiers do. Bounty Hunter? More murder? Fine. You were mostly hunting criminals anyway.” He laughed bitterly. “Hell, you almost killed _me_ , and I _still_ let that one slide.”

“I-”

“But _this?_ A whole _planet_ full of innocent people?” Little Cato backed away from him. “No. No way in hell.”

Avocato stood and started after him. “Can’t we… can’t we talk about this?”

“Not at the moment, no!” Little Cato opened the door. “I don’t even wanna _look_ at you right now.”

The door slid open to reveal a bewildered Gary. “Whaaaaat is happening?”

Little Cato pushed past him and stormed down the hallway. “Why don’t you ask _him!”_ The door closed, leaving Gary and Avocato in uncomfortable silence.

“Uh…”

“Gary,” Avocato said quietly, “I think I really messed up.”

His friend sighed. “I can’t promise I’m not going to get mad at you, but I _do_ promise to stand by what I said about how much it matters that you’re trying.”

Avocato nodded. “Okay. You remember how I said that nobody remembers what happened to the people on Kanopus Prime?”

Gary raised and eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“And you remember what Little Cato said after?” Gary nodded. “Well, he may been… you know… _right_.”

“Oh my crap.”

Avocato winced. “I know.”

“Dude, what the actual hell?”

“I _know.”_

 _“_ A whole frigging _planet?”_

 _“I know!”_ Avocato rubbed his face and groaned. “He won’t even talk to me now. And I wouldn’t blame you if-”

Gary held up a hand. “Stop. Look, I’m definitely not happy about it, but I also didn’t know the you from back then. I only know the Avocato that you are _now._ And that Avocato is trying really hard to be a better person.

“But Little Cato has known you all his life,” Gary pointed out, “He trusted you above anyone else, so this was bound to blow up eventually. Secrets are funny that way.”

Avocato felt that familiar guilt worm its way into his chest again. “So what do I do?”

“For now? Nothing,” Gary said, “You gotta let Little Cato come to you on this one.”

“But what if he doesn’t?” Avocato asked.

“Then he doesn’t,” Gary said seriously, “And you’re going to have to live with that.”

That answer wasn’t exactly comforting, but Avocato knew he was right. He never forgave _himself_ for what happened on Kanopus Prime, there was no way he should expect Little Cato to.

A hand on his shoulder made him look up. Gary smiled at him. “You need a hug?”

Avocato choked out a laugh. “You know what? Yeah. I could use a hug.” Gary pulled him in and hugged him tightly. Avocato closed his eyes and tried not show how close he was to tears.

He had just gotten back to his son, and now it was beginning to look like he might have to start all over. _Again._


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I love your writing, I’m not sure if you’re still taking requests but if you are could you possibly do little cato reacting to the several Gary corpses floating around final space. If not that’s cool, have a good day ✨

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y’all know this one’s gonna be rough.

All eyes were on Gary and Quinn. Sure, they were right in the middle of Final Space, but no one could be too bothered by that fact right now, not with their friends outside the ship.

Worry tugged at the back of all their minds when they saw the ominous shapes floating around Quinn, but they all shoved it aside to watch Gary pull Quinn into the ship.

Once they were both safely back in, Little Cato and Avocato ran to the airlock, Mooncake flying close beside them. Fox and Ash both stayed behind with whoever the older woman was, and Avocato suspected it was just because they weren’t sure who Quinn was.

But him, Mooncake, and Little Cato did. And they were absolutely elated.

“Dad! Quinn!” Little Cato called as they ran. “You guys!”

“Chookity!”

“Gary!” Avocato opened the airlock. Gary was there, supporting Quinn. “Is she alright?”

His friend pulled off his helmet, tears shining in his eyes and a soft smile on his face. “Yeah… she’s just having a hard time readjusting to gravity.”

“Avocato?” A muffled voice questioned. Quinn pulled off her helmet and stared in shock at the older Ventrexian. “Avocato, is that you?!”

He smirked. “You know it, baby.”

“How the hell-”

“To be honest, I don’t know either,” Avocato admitted, “Still trying to figure out the details on everything.”

Little Cato ran to Quinn and nearly knocked her over with a hug. “You’re alive!” He shouted happily. “I was so worried we’d never see you again.”

“Pok pok pok!” Mooncake chirped as he nuzzled Quinn’s face.

Gary laughed. “Easy, you guys, not too rough.”

Quinn ruffled Little Cato’s hair. “It’s alright, Gary.” She smiled at the young Ventrexian warmly. “It’s good to see you, kid. And you too, Mooncake.”

Little Cato pulled away and grinned. Gary too ruffled his hair and then started for the door. “Okay! Let’s get you introduced to the other kids. And my mom.”

“What?” Quinn asked. “Your _mom?”_

“You’re not the only one in the dark,” Avocato reassured her, “Trust me, I’m just as lost as you.”

She snorted. “Well, I should think so, considering you’re back from the dead.”

“I’m a regular dead man walking,” Avocato agreed. He glanced back at Little Cato, who hadn’t moved from where he had been talking with Gary and Quinn had been. “Son, you coming?”

Little Cato didn’t answer. Avocato and Gary glanced at each other. Gary cleared his throat. “Um, little buddy? You oka-”

A scream of terror tore through the air, making all three of the adults freeze in shock. “Chookity-pok?!” Mooncake said in alarm.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Little Cato!” Gary yelled. “Buddy, what’s going on?!” 

Avocato ran to his son and knelt by his side. “Little Cato, what’s wrong? Son?”

Little Cato suddenly lurched forward. Avocato barely had time to intercept him. “Let go!” Little Cato shrieked. “Let go of me! Gary!”

“He’s right here, Little Cato,” Avocato tried, “He’s right behind you.”

“No, no, no…” Little Cato struggled against his grip. “Dad, hang on! Dad!”

Avocato followed Little Cato’s gaze to the airlock window. His stomach dropped when he saw the corpse floating just outside. “What the hell…” It looked like it had been blown apart. Avocato wasn’t sure he wanted to know what did it, but he _did_ wanna know why the hell it looked like his friend.

Gary cursed. “I didn’t tell him. God, I’m such and idiot, I forgot to warn Little Cato.”

“You _knew_ about that thing?!” Avocato demanded.

Little Cato stiffened in Avocato’s arms, his scream reaching a new level of panic. “No! No, no, no please-” He fell to his knees and burst into tears, prompting another look outside.

Avocato thought he might throw up at what he saw. The ominous shapes they saw before were starting to come into view. There wasn’t just one corpse outside that bore his friend’s face.

There were _hundreds_.

Fox and Ash suddenly skid into view, Sheryl–Gary’s mother apparently–right behind them. “We heard screaming! What’s going on?!” Fox asked worriedly.

“That your boy screaming, Gary?”

“Little Cato!” Ash yelped. “Is he okay?”

“No,” Gary muttered bitterly. “Mom, can you take Quinn for a second?” As he helped Quinn shift her weight, he addressed Fox and Ash. “You two go with Mooncake to find something to cover up the windows with. Use sheets or blankets or whatever you can find until we find something better.”

They both wordlessly took off, Mooncake in tow. Gary joined Avocato by Little Cato, who was still sobbing on the floor. Avocato was scared shitless, but Gary seemed unusually calm, which was _very_ unlike the guy he knew.

“Little Cato,” Gary said quietly, “I need you to look at me, okay?” Little Cato cried harder, his tail curling around him. “I know it’s a lot, buddy, but I need you to look up.”

Avocato placed a hand gingerly on Little Cato’s back. “Can you hear us, son? Gary’s just fine, okay? He’s right here.”

“Sheesh,” Sheryl said, “He’s a right _mess_ , isn’t he?”

“Not the time, Mom,” Gary snapped. His voice softened as he went back to talking to Little Cato. “Come on, Spider-Cat, it’s me. I’m right here.” He took one of Little Cato’s paws in his hands and pressed it gently against his chest. “Feel that? That’s a heartbeat.”

Little Cato’s sobbing lessened, his gaze slowly refocusing on his fathers. “G-Gary?”

“Yep,” Gary reassured him, “Don’t worry, bud, you didn’t lose me.”

Avocato moved to block Little Cato’s view of the window. “We’re all safe, son. We’re all here and we’re all alive.”

Little Cato sat up a little straighter. “B-but I saw-”

“Different timelines,” Gary said, “They aren’t me, at least, not really.” He stood and gently tugged Little Cato to his feet. “Turns out _I’m_ the one who set off the bomb in all the other timelines.”

 _“That’s_ why there’s so many of you out there?” Quinn asked incredulously. “I thought it was some kind of torture from Invictus!”

“Nope, those are just alternate versions of me out there.” Gary ushered Little Cato out of the airlock. “Now let’s get you somewhere that doesn’t have any windows until Fox, Ash, and Mooncake get them blocked.”

Avocato hummed in agreement. “Sounds good to me. I don’t wanna see that horror show ever again.”

“Seeing _your_ body lifeless in space was bad enough,” Gary agreed, “Seeing a bunch of me is sooooo bad.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Quinn murmured.

Sheryl blinked. “I take it back. You’re _all_ messes.”

“Thanks Mom.” Gary took the brunt of Quinn’s weight again, though she seemed to standing on her own a little better.

Little Cato rubbed the back of his neck. “S-sorry for uh… crashing the mood.”

Quinn’s head snapped up. “I know that boy didn’t just apologize for a panic attack.”

Gary gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Easy there, Quinn. He’s still getting used to the whole ‘needing help’ thing.”

Little Cato looked at Quinn in confusion. “I’m… sorry? Did I do something?” He glanced up at Avocato. “Guess I really messed up this reunion, huh?”

“Boy, as soon as I can handle gravity again, I swear-”

“Okay!” Gary interrupted. “Finding a windowless room for the people and then I’m gonna go help Ash and Fox, alright? Alright.”

Avocato ruffled his son’s hair as they walked down the hallways. “You doing okay?”

“Yeah,” Little Cato said, “I’m really excited to have Quinn back.”

“Me too,” Avocato replied.

“Less excited about the… you know.”

“Yeah… yeah, that’s gonna take some getting used to.”

Avocato could hear Sheryl behind them whispering, “Absolute mess, the lot of them.” But he paid it no mind. Why would he care what _she_ said when he had his son and two friends back?

They were all little more traumatized than the last time he saw them, his son especially, but that was okay too. They could all be absolute messes together.


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now I wonder, fancy writing a fic where Gary has suicidal thoughts during his sentence on Galaxy 1 and HUE has to attempt talking him out of it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING WARNING WARNING
> 
> If this kind of content triggers you, please do not read it! I know from personal experience that suicide can be very troubling topic, and I don’t want anyone to go through any unnecessary panic or anxiety, so please continue with caution because this is gonna be really, really, really heavy.

“Anyway! Yours forever, Quinn! I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Gary turned off the transmitter and felt the smile fall off his face. He sat there in his chair for a few minutes struggling to put back on his face, but it just wasn’t happening.

_‘This is where you say **‘nailed it’** ,’ _HUE voice said through the shipssound system.

“Uh-huh,” Gary replied absently. “I _do_ usually do that, don’t I?”

_‘You know she won’t answer you, Gary,’_ HUE said matter-of-factly. _‘She never does.’_

Gary sighed. “Yeah, okay, thanks HUE.”

HUE was quiet for a few moments. _‘You are not arguing with me like you usually do.’_

“Not in the mood.” Gary stood up and walked out of his room. “What’s the point?”

Because really what was the point? All he did was sit here, day in and day out, just trying to think of things to tell Quinn. And she never even answered him anyway.

Gary, as usual, pushed down the negative thinking. He had to stay positive, right? How else was he supposed to get through this nightmare prison sentence?

Except it wasn’t going down. It just kept rising up inside his chest, and then into his throat. It was almost hard to breathe around the painful lump of emotions.

Maybe he could go play cards? That always seemed to cheer him up. Or maybe he could-

“Heeeeeeey Gary!” KVN floated into view and pinched his cheek with his weird metal claw. “Gary. Gary, Gary, Gary! Hey, best friend!”

Gary tried to shove KVN aside, but it just ended up being a half-hearted push. “Not now, KVN.”

He frowned as he walked down the hallway. Weird. Normally he’d be more than happy the whack KVN against the wall, but he just couldn’t find it in himself to do it.

And what was weirder? He didn’t care. He’d been acting crazy weird all day, even HUE had noticed, but he just didn’t care. What was the point of worrying about it?

What was the point of anything?

Gary didn’t usually let himself indulge in that kind of thinking. It made him feel… wrong? Not like himself. But there was just an overwhelming surge of bad. Which wasn’t good, but you know what? _Nothing_ was good.

In fact, he couldn’t think of one _single_ good thing. Cards didn’t sound good. Talking with HUE didn’t sound good. Hell, even the idea of getting a cookie didn’t have the same euphoric effect it usually did.

_‘Gary.’_ He was jolted from his thoughts by HUE’s voice. _‘You’ve been standing in the middle of the hallway for five minutes now.’_

“Huh… that’s… okay.” Gary hadn’t even realized he stopped walking. He shook his head and forced himself to start moving again. But where was he gonna go? He was still stuck on this ship no matter how many circles he walked around the bridge.

He deserved it though. He _deserved_ to be stuck on this stupid ship.

_‘Gary, I have some concerns.’_

“Save your concern for something else,” Gary muttered, “I don’t need it.”

_‘Gary, are you upset?’_

Interesting question, coming from the AI. “What do you care?”

_‘It’s my job to monitor you,’_ HUE replied.

“Good for you,”Gary snapped, “But do me a favor and leave me alone, okay?!” He winced at how that came out. He hadn’t meant to yell, he wasn’t even all that mad.

_‘Gary-’_

“I’m sorry, HUE,” Gary said quickly, “I-I didn’t mean to yell, I didn’t… ah, _crap_.”

He quickly walked away, though it wasn’t like he was _actually_ walking away from HUE. Couldn’t outrun the AI of a ship unless you could get _off_ the ship. And there wasn’t really a way off the the Galaxy One.

Well, _technically_ there was. The airlock led to the outside, it was how he made all the repairs. But without a ship it wouldn’t really be _escaping_ as it would just be… floating in the dark abyss of space.

Actually… maybe that could be a sort of escape…

Gary stopped in the middle of the hallway, this time fully aware that he had halted.

That was… not a _happy_ thought, but it wasn’t exactly… wrong.

No, it _was_ wrong. That? What he just thought? Very wrong. If he heard somebody else talking like that, he would have immediately told them how wrong it was and discouraged them from acting on it.

So why didn’t it feel so wrong when _he_ thought about it?

Probably because it wouldn’t _matter_ if he was gone or not. Other people were important for some reason or another. Friends, family… but Gary didn’t have either of those things. He didn’t have _anything_.

Nobody needed him.

He started walking again, his distracted brain directing him towards the airlock almost subconsciously. Somewhere deep down, he knew that this wasn’t the right thing to do. Taking your own life? It was probably the _worst_ thing you could do in a situation.

But hey… it was the only thing he had left to lose.

HUE activated as soon as Gary opened the door to the airlock. _‘You are not scheduled to make any repairs today.’_

“I know.”

_‘Then is this an escape attempt?’_ HUE questioned. _‘Because I will have to take necessary precautions to stop you if it is.’_

Gary sealed off the room. “Do you see a helmet on me?”

_‘I do not,’_ HUE said, _‘Which is extremely dangerous, and very confusing.’_

“I thought you were supposed to be smart,” Gary muttered.

_‘Gary, this is unlike you.’_

“Why do you care?” Gary asked.

_‘Because I am supposed to-’_

“Monitor me, yeah, I got it.” Gary rubbed his eyes and started towards the other side of the airlock.

_‘Exactly. And that means while you are under my supervision, your problems are my problems. Which is why I need to know what’s wrong.’_

Gary stopped in front of the controls that would open the airlock doors to the outside. “Well, don’t worry. I won’t be your problem for much longer.”

He closed his eyes, bracing himself for… he didn’t exactly know what. Cold? Bright lights? Pain? Whatever it was… it couldn’t be worse than this.

His hand slammed down on the button. Holding his breath, Gary waited for the inevitable rush of oxygen that would rush out as the doors opened, pushing him outside.

But nothing happened.

Gary’s eyes snapped open. The doors were still shut. He pressed the button again, but still nothing happened.

_‘Suicide…’_ HUE mused. _‘A very… extreme method for you humans to avoid your problems.’_

“I’m not _avoiding_ my problems,” Gary said angrily, “I _am_ the problem.” He tried once again to open the airlock doors, but HUE kept them tightly sealed. “HUE, _why_ are you stopping me?! You don’t even want me here!”

_‘It’s my job to-’_

Gary groaned. “I _get_ it. I’m your _assignment_.”

_‘Not only that, Gary, but you are also my-’_

“Don’t you dare say friend,” Gary interrupted. “That sappy load a bull isn’t going to work, alright? I know it’s a lie.” He tried prying the door open manually. “No one would ever put up with me willingly. I’m a low-life thief with a smart-mouth, not exactly a good person.

“And I already know all this! So don’t try and sugarcoat it, or tell me life is worth it, or any of that other crap. Because it’s not worth it. The best thing I ever did for anyone was get myself sent to prison where I wouldn’t bother anyone!”

He punched the wall angrily when he couldn’t get the door open. Breathing heavily, he leaned against the wall and slid down, sitting down on the cold metal floor. “Except for _you_ , I guess. I’m always bothering you.”

_‘I think bothering might be the wrong word for it.’_

Gary looked up. “Oh yeah? So what is the right word for it?”

HUE was silent for a moment. _‘Gary, you are annoying.’_

“Thanks.”

_‘You are also childish. And immature.’_

Gary leaned his forehead against his knees. “So you keep telling me.”

_‘But you are also kind,’_ HUE said, _‘Not to KVN, but KVN is a dick.’_

A chuckle escaped him. “Yeah… KVN really is a dick, isn’t he?” The laugh was short-lived, another wave of sadness washing over him. “But what does it matter if I’m kind? Doesn’t give my whole _life_ a purpose.”

_‘I wasn’t done, Gary,’_ HUE said, _‘You are annoying, childish, immature, kind… and one of the most stubborn people I have ever met. You are persistent in anything you do. Whether it be insisting you are the captain–which you are not–or your daily messages to Quinn. You simply do not know how to give up.’_

“Good for me.”

_‘Indeed,’_ HUE agreed, _‘Which is why I don’t understand why you’re giving up now.’_

“I…” Gary rubbed at his eyes tiredly. “Because…”

_‘Gary.’_ The doors of the airlock slid open, inviting Gary back inside. _‘You have no responsibilities for today. Why don’t you go lay down for a while.’_

Pushing himself to his feet, Gary replied, “You know what? Maybe I will.”

_‘When you are feeling more like yourself, perhaps you could go beat the crap out of KVN.’_

“I just might do that.” Gary paused before reentering the ship. “Hey… HUE?”

_‘Yes, Gary?’_

“Thanks.”

_‘You’re welcome.’_


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Could you write about What if the lord commander actually killed little Cato?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *inhales*
> 
> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANGST

Avocato was having trouble believing what was happening. He had Little Cato. Like, _really_ had him. No ambush, no tricks, no traps; just him, Gary, and his son ascending the rope to safety.

Despite the overwhelming sense of relief, Avocato also felt an impending sense of something… _bad._ And he didn’t know what said _bad_ was, exactly. He chalked it up to nerves.

He had spent so long looking for Little Cato, he had grown used to close calls and near misses. Instinct was telling him something was going to go wrong. That he hadn’t truly gotten his son back yet. There was still _something._

But he ignored it. Because his son right here next to him. Little Cato was right there. And there was nothing–absolutely _nothing_ –that was going to take his son away from him again.

While Gary dealt with KVN, Avocato took a moment to ruffle his son’s hair. It was damp from the rain, but still as blue and wild as he remembered it. Everything about Little Cato was the same. Even the sweater.

Had he been wearing that the _whole_ three years he was imprisoned? Avocato would have to get this kid a new shirt at some point.

Overcome with emotion all over again, he knelt on the floor of the ship and wrapped his arms around his son for the first time in… he couldn’t remember when.

When Little Cato hugged him back, Avocato could feel the smile against his shoulder. Though what was strange was how he stiffened in Avocato’s arms. He guessed his son was unused to hugs, after all he went through.

Avocato tried to comfort his son with a few words of reassurance. “As excited as I am about today, I’m even more excited for tomorrow.”

One of Little Cato’s arms pulled away from Avocato’s back. “Yeah…” he whispered, “Me too…”

That’s when Avocato heard the faint beeping. He panicked immediately, searching his son for the bomb he knew he was hearing. But he found nothing.

Another sound, arguably more terrifying than the steadily increasing beeps, barely reached his ears. “I’m sorry, Dad.”

“Son, what-” Little Cato suddenly broke away from Avocato’s embrace and ran to the opposite side of the airlock. Terror gripped him at the red light flashing in his son’s hand. “No no no, _stop!”_

Gary didn’t actually realize what was happening at first. It hit him when the Little Cato dashed by him, and he could see the metal death trap in the kid’s paw. A whispered, “No…” escaped his throat, knowing he couldn’t do anything at this point to stop what was going to happen.

And in that moment Gary had a choice. He could see Avocato starting to take off after Little Cato, and _god_ he wanted nothing more than for his friend to save his son…

But there was no way Avocato would get there in time. He just hoped his friend would forgive him for what he was about to do next.

He tackled his friend mid-run and they both slammed into a nearby support beam. “Gary, let go of me!” Avocato shouted at him, struggling against Gary’s grasp. “Let me-!”

The explosion drowned out whatever he was going to say next. Gary was thankful that his friend at least retained enough sanity to hold the metal support Gary had knocked them into. Otherwise he would have been sucked out of the ship along with all the debris.

Little Cato… didn’t make it. Gary almost couldn’t bring himself to look, but he forced himself to. Just to make sure there wasn’t even just a _small_ chance they could save him.

But there were some things you just couldn’t save a person from. And a bomb to the chest was one of them.

Gary could see Avocato’s mouth opened in a tormented scream, but with the gaping hole in the ship, even sound was sent hurtling into space.

By the time HUE managed to seal off the hole torn into the side of the ship, Little Cato was gone. Avocato stared out into space, maybe trying to find his son somewhere in the void that swallowed everything, but everyone knew he wouldn’t find what he was looking for.

And somewhere deep down, Avocato knew it too. He knew that no matter how long he stared at the cavernous hole, it wouldn’t bring back Little Cato.

Something was off, he _knew_ something was off. He _felt_ it as soon as he stepped on the ship.

Now… he couldn’t feel _anything._ He should’ve been sad, angry, something, _anything_. But he couldn’t muster the energy to do anything but stare.

It just didn’t seem real.

Little Cato was _right there…_


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gary getting a infection after his arm gets ripped off and Avocato has to take care of him with the help of mooncake!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gary needs to learn to take care of himself better, tbh.

How the hell did people ‘friend’? Avocato had known Gary for all of four days, and he already felt like he could trust the guy with his life. Hell, he trusted the idiot with his _son’s_ life. Which was weird, right? Or was that just how friends worked?

Avocato had no clue.

But nevertheless, Gary was his… friend. Which was weird to even think about. There were countless of people in this universe, and he somehow managed to come across _this_ idiot. He was _the_ single most moronic life-form Avocato had ever come across, and yet… this man offered to help him find Little Cato. Who does that?

Gary Goodspeed, apparently.

“Hey, Avocato!” He had been asking HUE if there was any new information about the Lord Commander or Little Cato, but they hadn’t come up with anything. Gary entering the bridge was a welcome distraction.

“You’re up early,” Avocato noted, “HUE throw you out of bed?”

Gary blinked at him, then laughed. “What? No, I just wasn’t in a sleepy mood.” Mooncake made happy circles around the room. It was strange having a super weapon just… hanging out in the ship. But Avocato had slightly bigger problems.

Namely Gary. Gary looked terrible. “You uh… you feeling okay?” Was that what friends did? It seemed like the right thing to say. Gary really did look like crap…

“I’m all good, friendo,” Gary reassured him. He leaned on the table and grinned at Avocato cheekily. “So! What’s the plan for- uh… oh, crap.”

Avocato barely caught Gary as his arm gave out. “What the hell, Gary?! I thought you said you were fine!”

Gary stood and took a step back from Avocato. “Uh… well I-I thought _was_.”

“Chookity-pok?” Mooncake hugged Gary’s face, then recoiled and flew frantic circles around the man’s head. “Chookity! Chokity-pok! Pok pok pok pok po-!”

“Mooncake!” Avocato interjected. “Calm down, would ya?” The green marshmallow nudged Avocato’s paw. Given Mooncake’s reaction when he hugged Gary’s face, Avocato took that as a hint to reach up and press it against Gary’s forehead.

Gary’s face screwed up. “Avocato get your _paw_ off my _face_.”

“Dude,” Avocato said, “You’ve got a fever.” He looked Gary up and down. “And your arm gave out…” The pieces were coming together slowly, and Avocato had a sneaking suspicion that, “Your arm’s hurting you, isn’t it?”

The resident moron of the Galaxy One inspected his right arm. “I don’t… I don’t think so…”

Avocato rolled his eyes and grabbed ahold of Gary’s left wrist. “This one, you idiot.”

“Oh.” Gary frowned. “You know, it _has_ been hurting the past couple of days. Like, a _lot_.”

“Is that why you were up?” Avocato asked. “Because your prosthetic hurts? Why didn’t you tell someone? It’s probably infected by now!”

Gary shrugged, then winced and held his left shoulder. “That uh… that might be the case, actually. I thought I was just… I thought it was just supposed to hurt.”

Avocato sighed and led Gary by his good arm to the medbay, Mooncake flying beside them. “Well, you’re not wrong. A new prosthetics don’t exactly feel _good,_ but there’s a difference between a sore connection area and an infection.”

“Mm’kay…” Gary said, “So how am I supposed to know when it’s the uh… the bad one?”

The Ventrexian opened the medbay doors and pushed Gary towards the chair so he could get a good look at his arm. “When you start getting a damn fever, Gary, _that’s_ when you know it’s bad.” He sat Gary down in the chair. “Now shut up and let me see your arm.”

“Which arm?” Avocato stared at him for a second before Gary held up his left arm. “This one, okay, I got it. Metal arm.”

Avocato bit back a sarcastic remark and took hold of Gary’s arm. “I’m gonna hold this still. You take off your shirt.”

Gary snickered. “Geez, Avocato, at least take me out for dinner first.”

“Gary,” Avocato growled.

“Okay, okay, okay!” Gary struggled to take off his shirt one-handed. “The Infinity Guard really needs to come up with a more comfortable uniform.” He suddenly inhaled sharply and paused. “Oh. Ow. That hurt, kinda bad-ish.”

Avocato put a hand on Gary’s shoulder. “Let me help.”

Gary raised an eyebrow, stupid playful grin back on his face. “You’re so forward, you know that?”

“I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that, and assume the fever is what’s making you this stupid.” Avocato tried to figure out how the shirt came off. “Is this… is this uniform all one piece?”

“Uh-huh,” Gary said absently. “That’s probably why it’s so hard to take off.”

Avocato smacked himself in the forehead. “I am _going_ to slap you, Gary.” He grabbed ahold of the sleeve and said, “I’m just gonna rip this is off, alright? Sorry if this jerks your arm.”

“If it jerks wha- _ah!_ Ow! That _really_ friggin hurt!” Avocato tossed aside the ripped sleeve and looked at the infected area carefully. Mooncake started babbling nervously, but Gary quietly reassured him that he was actually fine.

It certainly wasn’t pretty. Avocato could see why Gary was having trouble sleeping. His skin was red and swollen all around the connection area. “Damnit, Gary…” He glanced up at the ceiling. “HUE? What are we gonna do about this?”

 _‘I’m still all for you slapping him,’_ HUE replied.

“Thanks HUE,” Gary muttered.

“Chookity,” Mooncake chirped, settling in Gary’s lap.

 _‘I would recommend sterilizing the area,’_ HUE provided, _‘Then Gary needs to take it easy on his left arm.’_

Gary nodded. “Seems easy enough. So just do what I do without my left arm.”

“Yeah, no. You’re not doing anything for a while. You need to rest,” Avocato said, “As in laying down? Maybe sleeping?” He flicked Gary in the forehead. “Or did you forget you’ve got a fever?”

“Oh yeah,” Gary said, “Well, that’s crap.”

“Maybe next time you’ll think to tell someone your prosthetic hurts,” Avocato replied, “You know, _before_ it gets infected?”

Gary waved his good hand flippantly. “Yeah yeah yeah, whatever.”

“Pok!”

“ _Pok_ to you too, Mooncake.”

So Avocato didn’t understand Gary. He didn’t understand the blind trust or the overzealous enthusiasm, and he certainly didn’t understand how this cheerful bastard somehow managed to grow on him.

But you know what? Gary _had_ grown on him. And if the moron wasn’t going to take care of his own damn self, then Avocato figured he’d have to help the guy out a little.


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All this angst makes me wanna raise you a challenge: non-angst post s2 simple Garycato?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Challenge accepted.

Avocato found himself wandering the ship when he wasn’t sure what to do. And given the incredible amount of things he did not know, he ended up wandering pretty often.

He thought that maybe the bridge would offer a little reprieve. Maybe the giant window would make him feel a little more at ease, at the very least, a little less trapped.

It didn’t turn out quite as he expected, though. The view of Final Space ended up having the opposite effect of what Avocato thought it would. He found himself sitting in the pilot’s seat still as a statue, struggling to take in the seemingly endless unknown.

And it wasn’t just the _outside_ unknown that was getting to him. The unknown _inside_ was getting to him as well. New ship, new crew members, new _everything._ It was all so overwhelming.

Then Gary showed up.

The door to the bridge slid open and Gary strolled in like there _wasn’t_ an dimension of nightmares outside. “Hey Avocato! I got your distress signal.”

Avocato’s panic was momentarily forgotten. “I… I didn’t send a distress signal. I didn’t even _say_ anything.”

“Exactly. You haven’t said anything to anyone all day.” Gary leaned against the back of the chair Avocato was sitting in. “Which means that there’s probably something wrong.”

“Or I just don’t feel like talking,” Avocato said, snapping more than he meant to, “Not everyone is a sociable as you.” Of course Gary was right: there _was_ something wrong. He just didn’t want to admit it.

Gary was quiet for a moment before replying, “Okay. Not feeling talkative. Got it.”

Avocato was relieved Gary had dropped it so fast. He really _didn’t_ feel like talking, and even if he did, he wouldn’t know what to say.

Then he felt a comforting pressure around his shoulders. “Gary, what the-”

“Hug,” Gary interrupted, “I’m giving you a hug.”

Avocato turned awkwardly to look at Gary. “That part was obvious, my question is _why.”_

“Because.”

It wasn’t really an answer, but Avocato was too mentally exhausted to point that out. Gary sat down on the arm of the pilot’s seat to hug him more comfortably, and Avocato let himself relax a little bit.

This was only the second hug he had ever received from Gary. He had forgotten how nice hugs were. Especially Gary’s. The man gave ridiculously good hugs.

Gary gave his shoulders a light squeeze. “A lot changed, huh?”

Avocato smiled. “Yeah,” He batted at Gary’s blond strands, “Your hair is a total mess.”

“Well, when you’re on a ship that’s constantly headed for almost certain death, you don’t really take time to keep it regulation length.” He shrugged. “Not that I need to, anyway. I’ve been a free man since… maybe a day after you died? Or two? I don’t know, I lose track.”

Avocato carded through a knot in Gary’s hair, almost not even realizing that he was still messing with it. “Is it weird that we talk about my death so casually?”

Gary hummed. “Nah, I don’t think so. There’s too much other weird crap going on to dwell on it.” He gestured outside. “I mean, seriously, there’s a Titan wandering around out there helping us keep an eye on the ship.”

A sudden surge of that strange panic overtook Avocato. “I completely forgot about Bolo for a second.” He closed his eyes and tried to recollect his thoughts. “Damn, I really don’t know anything about anything, do I?”

“Avocato, stop.” Gary took hold of his wrist. “Look at me, man.” Avocato met his gaze reluctantly. “You don’t _have_ to know everything right now. You were dead, then you had amnesia, and _then_ you were friggin’ _possessed_.

“Don’t try to take it all in right now, it’ll drive you nuts if you try.” He smiled reassuringly. “Just take it one step at a time, okay? And take as long as you need.”

Avocato returned the smile hesitantly. “One step at a time. I think I can manage that.” He glanced away briefly. “Does uh… does this count as a step?”

“Hell yeah,” Gary said. Avocato leaned against his shoulder and exhaled slowly. “I know you’re not a big fan of talking about feelings, specifically _your_ feelings. So if you just need a hug every once in a while, we can make that happen. Hugs can definitely be the first step.”

The view outside was considerably less intimidating with Gary’s arm around his shoulder and his other hand resting on his arm. It could almost be considered beautiful in its own terrifying way. In any case, he no longer felt the need to get up and wander on his own.

“Okay,” Avocato said finally, “Hugs it is.”


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Would you maybe interested in maybe a fluff prompt between Ash and Little Cato? I love your blog btw!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes. The traumatized teen duo. They need fluff.

Ash tucked her hair behind her ear for what felt like the hundredth time in the past couple of seconds. She and Little Cato were hanging out in her room, trying to catch a break for a while before plunging back into the craziness.

They had been sitting on her bed chatting for a few minutes. And she was trying to focus on what Little Cato was saying, but her hair kept distracting her. Only vaguely aware that Little Cato had asked her a question, she glanced up and asked, “What?”

“Well, at _first_ I was saying that fixing the lightfold engines have been a total thorn in my side.” Little Cato pointed to her mess of pink hair. “Then I asked if you wanted me to help you with that.”

She shrank into herself self-consciously. “I don’t know… I’ve never actually done anything with it before.”

Little Cato grinned. “First time for everything.” He moved to sit behind Ash. “So what are we thinking? Braids? Ponytail?”

“Um… braid? I guess?” Little Cato started to comb through her hair and she panicked momentarily. “W-wait.” She held tightly to the bangs that hid her right eye. “Can you leave this part here?”

“Of course.” He carefully parted around it and gathered the rest. “According to Tribore, this is the part where we start gossiping.”

Ash frowned. “Uh… gossiping?”

“Yeah, I don’t get it either,” Little Cato said, “Something in that show of theirs, I think. Apparently hairdressers are notorious gossipers.” He paused to separate her hair into three pieces. “Not much to gossip about here though. Just idle conversation.”

“I don’t mind idle conversation so much.” Ash shifted slightly to sit more comfortably. “Where’d you learn to do hair anyway?”

Little Cato leaned over to look at her. “What? Surprised that a teenage boy knows how to braid?” He looked amused at her defensive expression. “Kidding, Ash, I’m kidding.” He sat back, starting on her braid again. “I honestly couldn’t tell you _where_ I learned braiding specifically.

“As a kid I liked to watch people do things. Even really mundane things like doing their hair. Braiding was just one of those things I picked it up by watching. And now here we are braiding your hair.”

Ash was mildly impressed. “You learned by watching?”

“And practicing a little, yeah,” Little Cato said, “I learned a lot of things just by watching and doing.” He winced. “Sorry if I pull a little here.”

The tug was hardly noticeable. Little Cato was surprisingly gentle. “Think you could… maybe teach me how?”

“Sure!” Little Cato said enthusiastically. “I should probably teach you how to put your hair in a ponytail first, though. That’s the easiest thing to learn.”

Ash smiled. “Beginner’s level, huh? Gonna teach me the basics?”

“It’s always a good place to start.” Little Cato worked down her back. “Didn’t you ever do stuff like this? I don’t wanna throw in a girly stereotype, but…”

“It’s fine,” Ash said. “The only person I ever really interacted with before Clarence and Fox was Harp. Her hair was always too short to play with and neither one of us really cared enough to try and figure out how to do mine. Although, now I wish I had taken the time to learn. Hair is annoying.”

Little Cato hummed in agreement. “Can’t argue with that. Mine’s a mess when it rains.” He patted the top of her head. “But yours is a mess all the time.”

Ash swatted at his hand. “Shut up, Mohawk. You can’t make fun of my hair when yours looks like _that.”_

“Hey” Little Cato interjected, “My hair is frickin’ awesome, you’re just jealous.”

She snorted. “Of that bright blue nightmare? Not in a million years.”

“Oh yeah, says the girl with the tangled pink wreck,” Little Cato teased. “Now hold still, I’m almost done braiding.”

Ash settled and let Little Cato finish up. “I don’t _have_ to keep it in, do I?”

“What? No,” Little Cato said. “If you don’t like it, just take it down.” Ash felt her hair lay against her back. “Okay, I’m done.”

Reaching over her shoulder, Ash pulled the braid around to look at Little Cato’s handiwork. “Wow…”

Little Cato flopped on the bed next to her. “Yeah, I know. It’s a little messy, but that’s nothing a brush won’t fix. I’ll have to remember that for next time.” He rolled over on his back and looked up at her. “So do you hate it?”

Ash shook her head. “No, actually. I kinda like it.” She turned over to lay on her back with Little Cato, letting the braid fall over the side of the bed. “It’s better than trying to wrestle with it all the time.”

“Glad I could help,” Little Cato said sincerely. “Anytime you want me to show you how to do your hair just let me know.”

“I will.” They laid in silence for a moment, Ash marveling at how her hair no longer felt like it was trying to suffocate her. Then she turned to her friend. “Hey. Little Cato?”

He glanced over at her. “Yeah?”

“Thanks for helping me with my hair,” she said, “And for… you know, everything else.”

“Of course,” Little Cato replied. “Not sure what ‘everything else’ is, but you’re welcome, I guess.”

Ash shrugged. “Just… you know… everything.” She folded her hands over her stomach and turned her gaze back towards the ceiling. “I know I can be pretty snappy sometimes, and I’m kind of hard to talk to. But you’re always… patient. With me.”

“You don’t have to thank me for that,” Little Cato said, “That’s just friend stuff.”

She looked back over at him. “Is it?”

Little Cato hesitated. “You know, I’m not sure actually. It’s been a while since I’ve had friends. You and Fox are pretty much it right now.” He smiled. “But I’m pretty sure it’s friend stuff.”

“So… we’re friends?” Ash asked tentatively.

“Yeah,” Little Cato said, “If you wanna be, that is.”

She thought about it for a moment. “Yeah. I think I wanna be friends.”

“Cool. We’re friends then.”

“I still think your hair is dumb.”

“Rude.”


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gary having a panic attack?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He’s certainly got plenty to panic about, doesn’t he?

Quinn had only been on the ship for a few days. She was in the same boat as Avocato in that she didn’t know what the hell was going on. Gary’s mom was on the ship. Tribore’s outfit had changed. The new additions Fox and Ash were certainly… interesting, and she still wasn’t clear on their history.

But the thing that surprised the most was Gary himself. The Gary she knew was energetic and kind of an idiot. And now he was taking care of three kids, assigning rotation shifts between the five adults on the ship, making sure Little Cato kept him updated on repairs, and he was… mature?

It was weird 180, that was for sure. He was almost an entirely different person.

Still though, he was Gary Goodspeed. He was loud and rambunctious, he was just more responsible about it now. No more crazy dangerous suicide missions with Little Cato, no more over the top flirting; now the mission was staying alive and the flirting was just normal.

She wouldn’t have imagined anyone relying on Gary for anything, the guy couldn’t even rely on himself for most things. And now she and Avocato were depending on him to know fill them in–because they had no idea what had happened–and the kids depended on him for reassurance and comfort, which he was surprisingly good at.

Gary was also different for another reason. Not only was Gary looking after everyone pretty closely, Quinn had also noticed Little Cato glancing at him from time to time. Quinn never understood why, until one day when everyone had gathered on the bridge.

It was never said it out loud, but nobody really liked wandering around alone. Everyone hung out in pairs or in one big group on the bridge. It was easier to keep track of everyone that way. Except for maybe Sheryl. She tended to keep to herself most times.

“Okay, everyone!” Gary said. “Little Cato’s got our engine functional, but we still can’t lightfold. We’re working on it, but we’re gonna go ahead and keep moving, and try and fix it on the way.”

“Shouldn’t we fix the lightfold engine first?” Fox asked. “What if we need to escape something?”

Gary shrugged. “We don’t even know if we _can_ lightfold in Final Space. And even if we can, we don’t know where we’d end up.”

“He’s right,” Avocato agreed. “It’s better if we just fly around first. If we get the lightfold engine working later, then maybe we could use it, but not until we know more about this place.”

Ash wrung her hands. “But what if we get into trouble?”

“We won’t,” Gary reassured her, “And if we do, we’ll figure it out. Just like we always do.”

“Well…” Fox started.

“Nope,” Gary interrupted, “Always. We always figure it out.”

“Except for-”

Little Cato put a hand on Fox’s arm. “Dude. Not the time.”

Fox looked sheepish. “I’m just saying. Things don’t always go our way. Maybe we should prepare a little better. Don’t wanna anybody to get hurt, you know?”

“I don’t wanna lose anyone either,” Ash murmured. She sounded bitter. Quinn had heard she was close with the late Nightfall.

Avocato held up his hand. “Nobody’s losing anybody, calm down.”

Ash glanced up at Avocato wearily. “No offense… you… but you haven’t exactly been around for a while. You have _no_ idea what’s been going on around here.”

“Easy Ash,” Little Cato said, “He’s just trying to help.”

“What would _help_ is fixing the lightfold engine,” Fox said.

Little Cato frowned. “And I’m _working_ on it. Gary didn’t say _‘don’t fix the light fold engine’,_ he just said that maybe we should get a head start instead of floating in one spot like sitting ducks.”

Quinn noticed Gary had gone unusually quiet while the others argued. “Gary? You okay?”

Gary’s knuckles were white on the controls. “Fine, it’s fine. Nobody’s gonna get hurt, we’re not gonna lose anyone, and everything’s gonna be fine, just fine. It’s gonna be-”

“Gary?” She put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey.”

Little Cato seemed to notice what was happening and walked over, leaving Avocato to reassure Ash and Fox. “Aw, crap.” He looked up at Quin. “He hasn’t gone quiet yet, has he?”

Quinn blinked at him. “Quiet? _Gary?”_

“It’s gonna be fine…” Gary muttered.

The young Ventrexian’s attention snapped back to Gary. “Dad? Dad, listen to me. Are you okay?”

“But what if it’s not fine?” Gary asked. “What am I gonna do if I-”

Avocato looked over at them and scowled. ”What’s going on over there?” Little Cato waved him over. “Gary? You okay, man? Talk to me.” He glanced down at Little Cato for an explanation.

Which Little Cato helpfully supplied. “It’s probably a panic attack, Dad. We just gotta stay calm, help _him_ stay calm, and try not to bring up anything particularly… stressful.”

Ash and Fox seemed worried, maybe realizing they were partially responsible for the present situation. They approached slowly, Ash tentatively reaching out and touching Gary’s arm. “Um… Gary? Are you okay?”

Gary took a breath. “Yeah. Yeah, don’t worry about, kid. I just said everything’s fine.”

“But you’re not fine,” Avocato pointed out.

“I’m good,” Gary insisted.

“But you’re not,” Fox objected.

“I _am_.”

Little Cato took Gary’s hand. “Dad, you’re shaking.”

Quinn was still reeling. Gary? Panic attack? Not the Gary she knew. The Gary she remembered was far too optimistic and happy and carefree and… not like this.

Gary gently shook Little Cato off. “Okay, so, I’m shaking. Doesn’t mean anything.”

“That does mean something,” Quinn said, finally starting to wrap her head around the situation. “Is this about-”

“It’s not about anything!” Gary interrupted, “I just don’t wanna lose anyone!” He started counting off on his fingers. “I lost Avocato, I lost Quinn, I lost the Earth, I’ve almost lost the kids _several_ times while we were looking for the Keys, then I lost Nightfall, and now we’re stuck in this terrifying dimension of infinite death and I don’t-”

Little Cato waved his hand to get Gary’s attention, not right in his face, just barely in his line of sight. “Breathe, Dad. We’re all here, and no one’s hurt or lost or in any immediate danger… at the moment.”

Gary rubbed his face. “I know. I _know_ that. I’m just…” He exhaled slowly. “I’m just worried.”

“I think we’d be a lot more concerned if you weren’t worried,” Avocato said, “It’s a pretty messed up situation.

Quinn gave Gary’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “But we’re gonna figure it out. Just like you said.”

Gary still didn’t look convinced. “How do you know that?”

“Because you broke time to bring Avocato back from the dead and you broke space to follow me into another dimension.” Quinn smiled. “I’m pretty sure we’re capable of anything at this point.”

He returned her smile hesitantly. “I guess we _are_ pretty great, huh?”

“The greatest,” Little Cato agreed.

Fox cleared his throat. “Sorry for uh… freaking you out.”

Gary waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. You had a concern and you voiced it.” He turned to Little Cato. ”Think you could work with my mom on that lightfold engine? She could probably help you out.”

Little Cato groaned. “If I must. I’m pretty sure I could figure it out by myself, _but_ if it’ll get things done faster then yes. I’ll ask the grandma if she can help.”

Ash giggled. “I think she’d kill you if she ever heard you call her _‘grandma’_.”

“Yeah? Well, she’d have to catch me first.”

Avocato ruffled Little Cato’s hair. “Just go ask her if she can help.”

Little Cato batted his hand away. “Ugh, fine. I’m going.” He grinned at Ash and Fox. “If you hear accented anger later, you’ll know why.”

“Engine won’t fix itself.” Avocato ushered Little Cato out of the room. “Just keep out of trouble.”

“If you want him to stay out of trouble, maybe you shouldn’t have him go find Sheryl,” Fox said, “She’s about as trouble as trouble gets.”

Avocato rolled his eyes. “You are not helping.”

“I wanna see Sheryl get mad!” Ash exclaimed. “I bet it’s really funny now that she can’t kill us.”

Fox waggled a finger at her. “No no. She _could_ still kill us. It’s just a matter of whether or not she _will_.”

“Let’s go find out!” Little Cato said excitedly. The three of them took off, Avocato close behind and trying to discourage them from intentionally irritating the notorious criminal.

Quinn couldn’t help but study Gary once the others had left. He really was _so_ different than she remembered. Gary noticed her staring and raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Nothing,” Quinn said, “You’ve just changed.”

Gary shrugged. “We all changed.”

“I know, but… you changed a lot.”

“Well, change is good, right?”

Quinn hummed. “Maybe.” She leaned against his chair. “I kinda miss carefree Gary, though.”

Gary laughed. “Yeah… yeah, so do I.”


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You know what this blog needs? Some Quinn and Little Cato hurt/comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shit, you right
> 
> Here you go, have some AirMom content.

Little Cato worked diligently on the section of the ship he had torn apart to fix. Turned out the lightfold engines were gonna be tough to get back online without sufficient power, which they did not have because there were still parts of the ship that weren’t functioning. So the fourteen year old was often found making repairs around the ship, trying to redirect and conserve power as needed.

Except most of the time it was just a couple of hours, _not_ so long that Quinn had lost track of how much time he had been working.

Quinn wasn’t entirely sure if the kid had even _slept_ at all. She thought about asking his roommate, Fox, but she still couldn’t tell if they were on good terms or not. Sometimes they seemed friendly and other times they were fighting relentlessly. Maybe telling Fox would start another argument, and she wasn’t in the mood for conflict.

Shaky friendships aside, Quinn was concerned for Little Cato. She had been watching him work for a while now, connecting wires, welding metal, and just in general working at a very determined pace.

After a few more minutes of her watching, Little Cato tilted his head back and sighed. “Do you need something? Or are you just gonna stand there forever?”

“When was the last time you slept?” Quinn asked.

Little Cato shrugged. “I don’t know. And I don’t care.”

Quinn crossed her arms. “Sleep is important in here.”

“Time is an illusion in here,” Little Cato retorted, “Maybe it’s been a week, maybe it’s been five minutes. Who knows? We don’t.” He went back to work. “Now if you wanna help, be my guest. If not, then _please_ leave me alone and let me focus.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think so, mister.” Sitting down next to the exasperated Little Cato, she tried to figure out what was bothering him. “Why won’t you tell me what’s up, huh? Would you rather talk to Avocato? Or Gary? Do you want me to go get them?”

“What? _No_. No, I _don’t_ need you to go get my dads. I just need to be not around people.” He moved away from her, but she slid to stay sitting next to him. “And you’re making that really hard. Thank you _so_ much for that, Quinn.”

“You’re pretty snappy today, huh?” Quinn leaned back on her hands. “That’s unlike you.”

Little Cato heaved a frustrated sigh. “Or _maybe_ you’re just getting on my nerves.”

Quinn frowned. “Alright, now you’re just being rude.”

“Yeah, I _know_. Why do you think I’m avoiding people?” Little Cato turned away. “Now seriously, _leave me alone.”_

“I don’t think I’m going to,” Quinn said, “Not until I figure out why you aren’t your normal happy self.”

“Maybe I’m just having a bad day, alright?!” Running his hands down his face, he quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, Quinn. That wasn’t… I didn’t mean to get so aggravated with you. I’m just in a bad mood.”

Quinn put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, I’m here if you wanna talk about it.”

“There’s nothing to talk about!” Little Cato waved his hands around angrily. “Like, I have _plenty_ of things I could be upset about right now, but I’m upset about them pretty much _all_ the time. And I _do_ have days where I’m more upset than usual but today is _not_ one of those days. I’m just… frustrated. And I don’t know why.”

“Okay then, if there’s nothing to talk about, then we don’t have to talk about anything.” Quinn tried to think of what could be frustrating Little Cato. He hadn’t interacted with anyone in a while, so he wasn’t arguing with anybody. Repairs seemed to be going fine, so it couldn’t have been that. “We can just… sit here. Is that okay?”

Little Cato rolled his eyes. “Yeah, fine, whatever.” He shook his head. “No. I mean- ugh…” He brought his knees up to his chest. “Yes. Sitting here with you sounds… kinda nice, actually.”

Quinn smiled and didn’t say anything else. She had a feeling Little Cato would open up when he was ready. And if right now wasn’t gonna be the time, she was willing to wait.

She didn’t have to wait long. After a few minutes of silence, Little Cato finally said, “I think I’m bad at this.”

“At what?”

He shifted uncomfortably. “Talking about stuff. Like, with Ash, it’s easy. She _wants_ to talk, you just have to let her do it on her terms. But I don’t like talking about… me.”

“How come?”

Little Cato turned so that he was facing her. “I don’t know. Probably because it feels like I’ve been through hell and back sometimes, and I think that I _shouldn’t_ need help.” He ran a hand through his hair. “My dads would tell me that’s dumb.”

“They’d be right,” Quinn replied, “Asking for help _isn’t_ dumb.”

“But I don’t even know _what_ I need help with,” he protested, “So it _is_ dumb.”

Quinn shook her head. “It’s really not. We just gotta talk it out, that’s all.” Little Cato rolled his eyes. “Hey, I never said was _easy_ to talk. I’m saying it’ll help us figure out what’s wrong.”

He sighed. “Okay, fine, but what do I even say?”

She shrugged. “How have been you feeling? What made you start keeping your distance.”

Little Cato frowned. “How I’ve been _feeling?_ Um… cagey, I guess. But kind of not at the same time. I don’t feel claustrophobic or anything–not right now anyway–but I feel like I need… something.”

“Something?”

“Yeah.” Little Cato leaned his forehead against his knees. “I thought maybe doing more work around the ship would help, but it didn’t. It actually _really_ sucks being away from people, but I didn’t want anyone to know I was upset.”

Quinn hummed. “Okay. So you’ve been feeling cagey-but-not all day. You want to be around people, but you don’t know what’s wrong so you decided to _not_ be around people.” Little Cato nodded. “What about right now? In this moment, what is the first thing that comes to mind when I ask you ‘How do you feel?’”

“Like I want to claw my own skin off,” he replied immediately, “Or maybe just bury myself in my bed and never get up.

“Oh.”

Little Cato chuckled bitterly. “Yeah, I’m not sure what it is. I mean, I kinda feel that way all the time, but it gets really bad sometimes and I don’t know what to do, so… I do this.”

“Isolate yourself and become super snappy?”

“Yep.” He looked up at her miserably. “Well, now what? Got any ideas?”

Quinn thought for a moment, trying to think of a solution. There was one that seemed glaringly obvious, but she was hesitant about it. She didn’t want to make Little Cato any more upset than he already was.

But she supposed it wouldn’t hurt to try. “I do have one idea. But it’s gonna require you to trust me a little.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Um… okay? I mean, I do trust you, but when you say it like that it makes me suspicious.”

“That’s fair, she admitted. “Okay, basically, I think you just need some stimulation.” Little Cato blinked at her. “You know, physical contact.”

“What?”

“Look, just-” Quinn moved her arm to wrap it around Little Cato, but he flinched away and she stopped. “Little Cato,” she said softly, “It’s just a hug, okay? We try this, and if you don’t think it’s working or if you just don’t like hugs, then we can stop.”

Little Cato hesitated. “I-I don’t… I don’t _dislike_ hugs.” He relaxed a little bit. “I’m just uh… I’m just starting to get used to Gary hugging me all the time and it’s… weird, you know?”

“I know,” Quinn said. “And that’s part of why this is so important. The time you spent with the Lord Commander left you essentially touch-starved since age eleven, and that’s not good. You didn’t have anybody for three years, and your body is missing the stimulation it never got.”

He rubbed his arm. “I think it was a _little_ longer than three years.”

Jesus, did Avocato never hug this poor kid? Longer than three years… no wonder Little Cato felt cagey. “Well, however long it was, it was _too_ long.” She held out her hand. “Again, if it turns out I’m wrong, then we can stop.”

Little Cato nodded slowly. “Okay… okay, um… god, it sounds so stupid, but now that you’re saying it out loud, a hug sounds pretty great.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry for getting scared earlier, I just… it startled me a bit.”

Quinn smiled warmly. “Don’t apologize. I’ll just wait for you this time, okay?”

He moved towards her slowly, tentatively leaning into her side. She carefully let her arm rest on his shoulders. His body tensed at first, then the tension seemed to melt away. “Oh.”

“Oh?” Quinn asked. “Is this helping?”

“Y-yeah, it’s…” He rested his head against her shoulder. “It’s nice.”

She studied him for a moment, his tail curling around himself and arms tucked close to his chest, and decided to try something else. “Come here, kiddo.”

“What do you mean?” He asked. “I’m already here.”

Quinn scooped Little Cato off the floor and stood. “We’re getting you a blanket.”

Little Cato looked confused. “Blanket? Why-”

“You’ll see.” She opened the door to her room and sat down on the bed, snatching the blanket with the hand that wasn’t supporting Little Cato. “Here.” She draped the blanket around him and resumed their hug. “How’s that?”

He took a steadying breath and buried his face in her shoulder. “I can’t remember the last time I felt… _not_ cagey. This is… this is kind of awesome.”

“Hugs are pretty cool like that,” Quinn agreed. “And it’s healthy. People kind of _need_ hugs for survival. Seriously.”

“So… if this ever happens again…”

“Then come find me or your fathers, and we would be more than happy to sit with you for a while.” Quinn pulled him closer. “You can come to us for anything. Even if you don’t really know what’s wrong and you’re just having a bad day. Just come to us if you’re upset.”

“What if I’m upset a lot?”

Quinn ran her fingers through his bright hair. “Then I guess we’ll just have to give you lots of hugs.”

Little Cato smiled a little. “I think I’d be okay with that.”

Relieved that she had solved the mystery of ‘Snappy Little Cato’, Quinn made a mental note to tell Gary and Avocato. Little Cato was an active kid. Mentally and physically, the kid was doing 110% with no reprieve, and he needed a cool down moment sometimes.

But explaining all that to the two morons could wait a minute or fifteen. Hugs were more important at the moment.


	37. Chapter 37

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if Invictus made Avocato kill Little Cato?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, you know, because this kid hasn’t been through enough already.

Gary could barely hear over the ringing in his ears. He felt disoriented. And _geez_ , why did everything hurt so much? What was he doing back on Kanopus Prime? Wasn’t he just trying to escape Invictus? And what on earth was Little Cato shouting about?

He focused just enough to hear Little Cato yell, “Dad, no! Fight it!”

Fight what? What was going on? He sat up and squinted at the blurry figures in front of him. The familiar sight of his friend brought him momentary relief. “Avocato?” But when Avocato turned, Gary could that the brainwashed person in front of him was _not_ his friend.

Avocato’s eyes glowed an eerie purple. Oh god, is that why he couldn’t remember anything? Had Invictus gotten ahold of him somehow? Little Cato looked panicked. And beaten. Oh crap, what had he _done?_ Did he hurt Little Cato while he was possessed? Did he hurt Avocato?

Whatever had happened, he definitely managed to get Avocato possessed. And possessed Avocato did not look happy. “You stole my son away from me.” A shiver went down Gary’s spine. That voice didn’t belong to Avocato. “And you left me for dead!”

Was that what happened? That wasn’t what happened! Unless that _was_ what happened. Gary couldn’t remember. His thoughts were spiraling out of control. He needed to find his son and go. His son? Avocato’s son. Jesus, did he really steal Little Cato away from Avocato?

Somewhere in his haze of thoughts, Gary tried to say _‘I’m sorry’_ , but all he managed to say was “I…” before pain exploded in his side. Somewhere it registered that he had been shot, but he couldn’t quite believe it. No, he could, he just didn’t _want_ to believe it.

Little Cato darted forward and grabbed the gun. “Stop it! This isn’t you!”

Avocato growled, which was so unlike him that it pretty much solidified that his friend was no longer in control. “He turned you against me!”

Every single one of Gary’s senses sharpened as his possessed friend kicked their son. Little Cato went skidding past him, and Gary sat up, the haze finally starting to clear out of his head. “Avocato, whatever that thing is, it’s poisoning your mind.” He tried to push himself back,but it was hard with the blood pooling on the ground around him. “You _asked_ me to look after your boy. We broke time to save you, we’re _friends!”_

“Dad, stop it!” Gary glanced behind him to see Little Cato picking himself up off the ground. “Come on, you can fight this thing.”

“Little Cato, don’t,” Gary said, “Stay outta this, bud, just go.”

The young Ventrexian ignored him. “I know you’re in there. And I know you don’t want to do this.” Little Cato took a few tentative steps forward. “You can’t want to do this.”

Avocato’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t get in my way, boy.” He lifted his gun. “Gary Goodspeed is a no good thief!”

“You don’t believe that,” Little Cato said, “I _know_ you don’t believe that.

“You don’t know anything,” Avocato spat, “You’re just a child!”

“And you’re Gary’s best friend!” Little Cato protested. “Don’t you remember that? He is _literally_ the first thing you remembered!”

“I said _‘get out of the way’_ ,” Avocato hissed.

Little Cato hands curled into fists. “No, Dad. You have to stop.”

Gary felt an indescribable pressure hanging in the air. A tangible feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong. But there were so many things that could go wrong. “Little Cato, seriously. He’s possessed and you need to go.”

“You should listen to the thief,” Avocato said, “And get out of my way.”

Little Cato took a deep breath. “Dad-”

“Move.”

“Please, just listen-”

_“Move!”_

Gary managed the strength to stand, causing another wave of blood to flow from his side. “Avocato, we can talk about this.”

“I’m done talking.” Avocato pointed his gun at Gary. “He dies right here. Right now.”

Little Cato stepped in front of Gary defensively. “Like hell he does! You’re not even mad at Gary! He took care of me just like you asked him to! He didn’t turn me against anybody, he was just… _there_ for me. Because _you asked him to.”_

Avocato lowered the gun slightly. “You’re in the way.”

Little Cato took another step forward. “Dad, please-” And then it happened.

That was it.

It just happened.

Gary wasn’t sure what he was expecting. The world to slow down? For the blast to somehow freeze in the moment like it did in the movies? He didn’t know.

But what he saw was Avocato’s arm tense, the flash of his gun firing, and then Little Cato falling back like he had been shot.

No, not _like_ he had been shot. He _had_ been shot. Oh god, he had been _shot._ “Little Cato!” Impulsive rage flowed through him, scooping Little Cato’s gun off the ground, all pain forgotten. He pointed it at Avocato, admittedly shaky, but he was too overwhelmed with anger and fear to care.

“What the hell did you do?!” Gary demanded.

“He was in the way.”

Gary’s grip tightened on the gun. “In the way, my ass! He’s a fourteen year old kid! He’s your fourteen year old kid!” He put his finger on the trigger. “Now you better step the hell back before I shoot you.”

Avocato laughed. “You wouldn’t.”

But Gary would, and he did, because that thing was not his friend.

And there wasn’t any hesitation. There was no dramatic music. There wasn’t a brief flicker of recognition in Avocato’s eyes that told Gary that maybe–just _maybe_ –there was still a piece of his friend buried deep down inside Invictus’ control.

There was nothing except a gunshot, and Gary couldn’t even hear it over the blood roaring in his ears.

He watched as Avocato fell to his knees, the hole in his chest spilling blood. In a brief moment of shock, or maybe hysteria, Gary had the urge to point out that they were now matching as far as gunshot wounds go. One for one.

It would have been a ridiculous thing to point out at a time like that, and that’s part of the reason he would have done it: _because_ it was ridiculous.

Because it would have made Avocato laugh, even though he definitely would have called Gary an idiot afterwards. And Gary would have been okay with that because it would have meant that the Ventrexian glaring at him was still his friend.

It was almost as if Invictus could still manage to get in his head and peer into his thoughts, because the very next thing Avocato said was, “You are no friend of mine!”, as if responding to Gary’s fears.

“No,” Gary said, “I have _always_ been your friend. And I always will be.” He shook his head. “But you… you aren’t _you.”_

Black started to creep up Avocato’s arms. “I _will_ find you,” Avocato said scathingly, “And I will _kill_ you!”

“Try me, you piece of shit!” Gary shot back. “You just shot my kid! You think _anything_ in the galaxy is gonna stop me from making you pay this?”

Avocato sneered, “ _Your_ kid? The child is _mine_.”

“ _You_ are not Avocato,” Gary seethed. “You’re just a twisted possessed version of him. You are not my friend, and you are _not_ his father!”

_“Neither are you!”_

Gary continued to stare at the spot where Avocato disappeared. He lowered the gun to his side. Which hurt. A lot. God, was that really what he was thinking about right now? Little Cato had just been shot and-

“Oh shit.” Gary tossed the gun aside and knelt at Little Cato’s side. “Hey, little buddy, talk to me.” He wasn’t moving. Why the hell wasn’t he moving? “Spider-Cat? Come on, say something.”

He gently turned Little Cato onto his back. The kid’s hands were clamped over a blossoming stain of red. “Ah… Gary?”

“Yeah, it’s me. I’m here, okay? I’m here.” He put a hand over Little Cato’s and tried to ignore the bright red that seeped through his fingers. “Everything’s gonna be okay. W-we’re gonna get you back to the ship and-”

“I’m so sorry.”

Gary paused, his mind still reeling. “What?”

“I didn’t think he’d shoot me,” Little Cato said, “I didn’t think… I just… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t you dare apologize,” Gary said firmly, “This is not your fault.”

Little Cato looked down at himself with a frown. “You know, he never saw me… until the Lord Commander made him kill me. You should have seen it, Gary, he _really_ saw me.” He looked up at Gary blearily. “I thought if seeing me could convince him to betray the Lord Commander then maybe… maybe seeing me would help him fight Invictus too, but…” He sighed. “But he didn’t see me.”

Gary struggled to focus on Little Cato, and the hurricane of thoughts that were howling in his mind wasn’t making it easy. “Little Cato, I need you to stop talking, okay? Just take it easy and we’ll get you back to the ship.”

Little Cato took a shaky breath. “I thought… maybe he’d see me again…” He laughed weakly. “I think he only sees me when he has to kill me.” His smile faded. “And that’s funny… r-right?”

Gary shook his head. “No, that’s… that’s not funny.” He slipped his arms under Little Cato. “Hold still, okay? We’re going up.” He stood unsteadily, his own side throbbing in pain, and Little Cato winced. “I’m sorry, buddy, I know it hurts.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Little Cato murmured. “It’s only the second worst hole I’ve ever had in my stomach. Doesn’t even hurt that bad, really…” Tears started welling in his eyes. “He didn’t see me, Gary. Why couldn’t he… why couldn’t he see me?”

“I don’t know, Spider-Cat,” Gary tried to keep his voice level as he walked. “He was possessed. That was all Invictus, it wasn’t really your father talking.” He held Little Cato tighter. _God_ , the kid was small, he was so _so_ small. “But we’re gonna get him back. We’ll get Avocato back, I _promise_.”

“I know,” Little Cato whispered, “You always keep your promises.” He tilted his head. “Hey Gary?

“Yeah?”

“Can you see me?”

Gary was going to kill Invictus for this. He wasn’t even sure what Invictus _was_ , but the son of a bitch was _going to die_. “I see you,” Gary reassured him, “I’ve always seen you.”

Little Cato looked relieved. “Okay.” His gaze was unfocused. “”Everything’s so blurry.”

“Do not close your eyes,” Gary instructed. “I mean it. Just talk to me and keep your eyes open, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I mean it.”

“Oka…”

Gary halted in front of the waterfall they fell down earlier. “Little Cato? Little Cato!” He put on their helmets and took off into the air. “Shit, shit, _shit!”_ He clutched Little Cato tighter to his chest. “Hang on, okay? Just hang on.” 

The next few minutes were an absolute blur. He barely remembered the flight back up to the ship, but Nightfall was there when he came through the airlock. She said something, or asked something? Something about Avocato? And then she took Little Cato from him.

Which was wrong. Gary _couldn’t_ be separated from Little Cato, not right now. He watched them disappear down the hall and panicked. “No… no, wait.”

“Easy,” Fox said, “We need to get you to the infirmary.”

“Little Cato-”

“Nightfall’s taking him to the medpod,” Ash told him. “He’s really banged up, and so are you.” She reached up and touched his right eye gingerly. “What _did_ this to your face? You look like you’ve been hit by a spaceship.”

“Not to mention you’ve been shot,” Fox added. “Come on, AVA and HUE will help you in the infirmary.”

Gary shook his head. “I need to get to him. I need to-” His vision blurred around the edges. He stumbled into Fox, who caught him by the arm and helped him stand. “Little Cato!”

Fox picked Gary up and threw him over his shoulder. “Sorry man, but you’re not gonna be any help to him if you bleed out.”

He tried to break free of Fox’s grasp, but his struggles only strengthened the blackening in his vision. The fog managed to overtake him, and he woke up in the infirmary, laying in the chair with HUE at his side.

Sitting up, he looked around frantically. “Where is he? HUE? AVA?!”

 _‘Little Cato is stable,’_ AVA told him.

Gary tried to get up. “I need to see him.” He fell back, supporting himself on the arm of the chair. “Where is Nightfall? I need to talk to her right now.”

The door to the infirmary slid open. “I’m here, Gary.” She put a hand on his arm. “You have a gunshot wound in your side, Gary. You need to take it easy.”

“Little Cato has a _hole_ in his stomach, and you just want me to-” Gary winced and held his injured side.

 _‘AVA already told you that Little Cato is stable,’_ HUE reminded him.

“Stable isn’t good enough!” He turned back to Nightfall. “Where _is_ he?!”

Nightfall lifted her hands placatingly. “Still in the medpod. Ash and Fox are there with KVN keeping an eye on him” She hesitated and lowered her arms. “Gary, what happened out there?”

“Invictus happened,” Gary growled. “Avocato got possessed, and Little Cato got shot, and everything went wrong!” He stood up, feeling the bandages pull at his wounds. “I am _going_ to go see him.” 

_‘We already told you he is stable,’_ HUE repeatedly unhelpfully.

“And I told you that’s not good enough!”

Gary tried to walk past Nightfall, but she pushed him back. “Gary, you _need_ to rest. I know you’re worried, but why is this bothering you so much? They just said he’s stable.”

“Because I don’t need him to be stable! _I need him to be safe!”_ Gary breathed heavily in the silence. “I-I need…”

Nightfall sighed. “You’re worried. I get it. We’re _all_ worried.”

“I’m not just worried, Nightfall, I’m… I’m _pissed.”_ Gary paced around the small room. “I _let_ Invictus out, a-and I got Avocato possessed. He tried to _shoot_ me, and Little Cato got in the way trying to protect me. And you know what Invictus did? Used Avocato’s body to shoot him!”

HUE tilted his head. _‘You are angry with Avocato?’_

“No!” Gary exclaimed. “He’s possessed! I’m not mad at _him_ , I’m mad at… at _everything!_ The universe, I guess, I don’t know!” He ran a hand through his hair. “Because… I mean, the kid needs a break, damnit! And getting his father back was supposed to be his break.

“Little Cato has been through hell and back so many times, I’ve lost count! Saving Avocato was the _one_ thing I could do right by him, and I couldn’t even do that! Instead he nearly ended up dead trying to stop Avocato from killing _me!_

“He could have _died_ saving me. Just like he’s almost died _dozens_ of times! Which is dozens of times too many! He’s just a kid, Nightfall! He’s a fourteen year old who has lived a _lifetime_ of misery. Can’t the universe leave him alone for two goddamn seconds?!”

“Gary.”

He whirled around to face her. “What?!”

Nightfall took his hand. “Let’s go see Little Cato. We’ll deal with Invictus and Avocato and everything else later, but if it’ll make you feel better to see him now, then we’ll do that. Okay? And then you rest. You both need it.”

Gary took a breath. “Okay. Yeah, let’s do that.”

Avocato trusted him to protect Little Cato when he died. Now he was alive again, and Little Cato was still in danger. This time because of _him_.

That was never gonna happen again.

And Gary wasn’t even sure if he could make that promise because he had already broken it. So, _so_ many times.

But he was going to try. Again and again, until Little Cato was safe, really safe. He didn’t know how to do that yet, but he was gonna have to do something. He was going to have to step up somehow. The question was, how do you step up for a kid who had become so used to being alone?

Gary stepped into the dimly lit room with the medpod. Seeing Little Cato in that metal contraption made him sick, and the blood-stained sweater didn’t help. It also gave him an answer of sorts. How to step up for a lonely kid?

All he had to do was be there. And Gary was pretty sure he could do that, but the blood-stain also solidified his decision in something else.

Invictus was going to pay for this. No matter _what_ it took.


	38. Chapter 38

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of Avocato and Little Cato-centered angst roaming around isn't there? Maybe a bit of fluff between the two to keep the balance?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm… it’s not the fluffiest thing in the world, but how about some good conversation? Little Cato’s gotta lot to explain still.

The whole ship was in a constant state of quiet panic. Ash tugged her hair, Quinn wrung her hands, Fox had random outbursts, and all in all, everyone was scared.

Tensions were high ever since tearing their way into Final Space. They were trapped. There was no sugar-coating it. And after saving Quinn, nobody was really sure what they should be doing. Admittedly, Avocato was feeling pretty nervous about their situation.

There was only one person on the ship who didn’t seem outwardly worried, and that was Little Cato. He just roamed the ship doing…stuff. Nobody was really sure what it was. Mostly repairs, but Avocato had seen him wander into other parts of the ship, muttering to himself, sometimes counting boxes of supplies.

Avocato didn’t know his son well, but he figured that traveling through the vastness of Final Space might give him a chance to reconnect. They had nothing but time, after all. The only problem was, he didn’t really know what to say. Avocato hadn’t been able to have a normal conversation with Little Cato in three years. For all he knew, things could totally blow up in his face.

So he handled it like Gary would handle anything: throwing himself in and hoping for the best. He wasn’t sure if taking that particular page from his friend’s book was a good or bad idea, but he was going for it.

“Hey son!” Avocato walked into the cargo hold. Little Cato looked up from the paper he was scribbling on and waved briefly before going back to writing. “So uh… what are you up to?”

“Inventory,” Little Cato replied without looking up. “We don’t know how long we’re gonna be here, so we need to keep track of supplies.”

Avocato blinked. “Oh. That’s… pretty smart, actually.”

Little Cato set the paper down on a nearby box. “I know right?” He hopped up on another box and sat down. “Sorry we haven’t been able to talk a lot. Between inventory and upkeep of the ship, I’ve been kind of busy.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Avocato said, “We’ll have plenty of time now that I’m… you know, _alive.”_

Twirling his pencil idly between his fingers, Little Cato said, “That’s true, I guess.” He gazed out the window for a moment. “Nothing but time.”

Avocato tilted his head. “Are you okay?”

“Sure,” his son replied, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, everybody else seems pretty high-strung, but you are unusually calm.” Avocato crossed his arms. “Now I know you’re a tough kid, but if you _are_ scared at all, you know you can tell me, right?”

Little Cato smiled. “Of course I know that. And believe me, I am _totally_ terrified. Like, _constantly_.” He shrugged. “But there’s not really a point in dwelling on it, you know? It’s not gonna get anything done.”

Avocato stared at the piece of paper for a while before looking back up at Little Cato. “I know I missed a lot. And you’re probably independent beyond belief, but I still want to be here for you, okay? So I mean it when I say you can tell me. Whatever it is.”

The smile faded from Little Cato’s face. “Well, I guess I was gonna have to tell you eventually.” He set his pencil down and laced his fingers together. “You wanna know why I’m not freaking out like everyone else? Because I’m the only one who’s got _experience_ with this kind of stuff.”

“What do you mean?”

Little Cato sighed. “Ah, geez, how do I explain this? Um… I flew the ship through a bunch of time shards.”

“Um… okay?”

“Stay with me on this one, okay? I flew the ship through a bunch of time shards, and AVA gave the all clear. Except AVA was wrong, and we plowed right into one the second I looked away.” Little Cato rubbed the back of his neck. “Guess I should have paid better attention. Anyway, the ship got stuck.”

“In the time shard?” Avocato asked incredulously.

Little Cato winced. “Yeah. The ship and… and me.”

“You?” Avocato asked. “For how long?”

“To Gary and everyone else? Just a few minutes.” He hesitated for a second before continuing, “But for me it was about sixty years.”

Avocato’s stomach dropped through the floor. “Was there anyone else in there with you?” Little Cato shook his head. “So… you were completely alone. For _sixty years.”_

“Pretty much,” Little Cato confirmed. “I learned to fix the ship, conserve power, take inventory. I lost my mind a little and started hallucinated the rest of the Team Squad during the last few years. But other than that it wasn’t… so bad.”

“Little Cato.”

He laughed. “Okay, yeah, it sucked pretty bad. But on the plus side, I’m _really_ good at surviving!” His elbows rested on his knees. “So yeah. Completely terrified… but used to it.”

Avocato put a hand on Little Cato’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t _have_ to be used to it.”

Little Cato gave him a small smile. “Yeah, well… there’s not much we can do about that now.”

“But… this isn’t right,” Avocato protested, “It’s not fair to you. No one should have to go through that, _especially_ not a kid.”

“What does that matter?” Little Cato asked seriously. Avocato was surprised by his shift in tone. It was so unlike the Little Cato he remembered. “You think the universe cares about what’s right? Or what’s fair? Spoiler Alert, Dad: It doesn’t.”

Avocato sighed. “I know. I just… I kept thinking if I talked to you, I might be able to make things better, but… I don’t know how to do that. I just want everything to go back to normal, but with everything that happened when I was gone, I feel like-”

“Like I’m a different person?”

“What? No! Little Cato, that’s not what I meant, I-”

“It’s okay.” Little Cato put his hand over his father’s and gently removed it from his shoulder. “Look, I get why it’s hard to talk to me, okay? I’m not eleven anymore.”

“Son-”

“Dad,” Little Cato cut him off, “Things are _never_ going to be normal. As much as I would love to be the kid you knew three years ago, I’m not… I _can’t_ be him. I’m still your son, I’ll _always_ be your son, I’m just… different.”

Avocato took a steadying breath. “I can handle different.” He wrapped his arms around Little Cato’s thin frame, not missing the second of tension before he returned the hug. “It’s just hard to wrap my head around.”

Little Cato laughed into Avocato’s shoulder. “Hard for _you?”_ He pulled away and looked up at his father with a raised eyebrow. _“_ Try being zapped back into a fourteen year old’s body after sixty years. It took me _forever_ to relearn how short I was.”

“You _are_ pretty short,” Avocato noted.

“Still tall enough to kick your butt,” Little Cato said. He hopped down off the box he was sitting on and grabbed his paper. “Wanna help me with the rest of this? I’ve been thinking about talking to dad about assigning jobs.”

Avocato was relieved at how smoothly they transitioned out of the conversation. He felt like a part of him was still trying to process it. And he had to process and reprocess it every time he looked into his son’s eyes.

Now that he knew about the time shard, it was hard to _unsee_ the seventy-four year old in his son. How much could one kid hide behind tired eyes?

But Little Cato didn’t need his pity. Reassurance, maybe, but _never_ pity. “I think assigning jobs is a great idea, son.” He patted Little Cato on the back and headed up to the bridge. “Come on. Let’s go talk to Gary.”


	39. Chapter 39

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little Cato having a panic attack from seeing a gun after his dad shoots him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back at it again with the angst! Let’sa go!

Gary was thankful that Little Cato was helping around the ship. He wasn’t sure what he’d do without the kid, honestly. Sure, his mom could do repairs, Avocato could handle weapons, and Quinn was great at maintaining their suits, but Little Cato was pretty much the only thing keeping them all together at this point.

He’d seen Little Cato in a lot of high pressure situations and he was always capable, if a little excitable. But that excitability seemed to disappear in moments like these. All of his energy was spent on making sure everything was in working order.

Little Cato had brought Gary along to do a weapons check with Avocato. It wasn’t that Little Cato didn’t trust his father to do it properly, he just wanted to spend some time with the two of them. Which he never actually said out loud, but Gary could tell that what was going on, and he was more than happy to oblige.

Avocato smiled at them as they walked in. “Hey, you two. What brings you here?”

“Just checking on things,” Gary replied.

“Well, I was actually just finishing up in here,” Avocato said, “I can help you guys with the supplies in the cargo hold if you want.”

Little Cato nodded. “Sure. Never hurts to double check things.” They left the room full of weapons and made their way to the cargo hold. “So how’s everything looking in there, anyway?”

“Fine, as always. You worry too much, son.” Avocato ruffled Little Cato hair playfully. “Take a break once in a while, huh?”

Little Cato swatted his hands away. “Aw, Dad, cut it out.” He ducked into the cargo hold to avoid Avocato’s ruffling. “One dad ruffling my hair is enough, I don’t need you _both_ of you doing it.”

Gary grinned and joined in mussing the kid’s mohawk. “What’s the matter? Afraid we’ll mess up your do?”

“Dad, quit!” Little Cato laughed, still batting at them. “Both of you, knock it off!”

“What if we don’t?” Avocato asked. “Gonna stop us?”

“That a challenge?” Little Cato asked. “You know, it’s been a while since we’ve sparred. You’re probably _waaaaay_ out of practice.”

Avocato “Oh ho, them’s fightin’ words, boy.”

Gary spun on his heel and walked to the other side of the hold. “Nope, nuh-uh. I’ve _been_ in a fight with you two and I am _not_ doing that again.” He was glad they had gotten to the cargo hold and away from their crewmates before this started. Anyone caught in the crossfire of a Cato fight wasn’t gonna escape without a bruise or five.

As a spectator, however, the fight was absolutely incredible. Gary sat down on a box and watched in amazement at the Ventrexians fighting.

Both of them were fast and ridiculously agile, which Gary partially attributed to them being cats (even though Avocato would deny it). And while it was clear that Avocato was more experienced in actual physical combat, Little Cato had size on his side. He was hard to grab, and harder to hold.

But despite his size, Little Cato was surprisingly strong. Fourteen years of straight calisthenics really paid off. It also caught Avocato by surprise a couple of times. Neither one of them were going full strength, obviously, but Gary could see how impressed Avocato was. Only in brief flashes though, the rest of his time spent was spent concentrating on not getting hit.

Eventually the spar dissolved into a more of a wrestling match, which Gary found adorable, but he knew neither Ventrexian would appreciate him saying it out loud.

As they tussled, something clattered to the ground. Gary couldn’t see what it was at first, but Little Cato jumped up and looked around. “What was that? Did we break something?”

“No, I just dropped this.” Avocato scooped a gun off the ground and inspected it, probably making sure it wasn’t damaged. “Guess I need to be more careful, huh?”

Little Cato suddenly didn’t look interesting in sparring anymore. “What is that?”

Avocato’s eyebrows furrowed. “Um…”

“Why do you… have that?” Little Cato gaze darted to the gun, and then back to Avocato. “Why do you have a gun?”

Gary stood up and said, “Little Cato, are you okay?”

Little Cato’s eyes widened. “Were you gonna shoot someone?”

“What?” Avocato asked, looking confused and concerned. “Of _course_ not.”

“Were you gonna shoot Gary again?” Little Cato took a terrified step back. “Were you gonna shoot _me?”_

Avocato shook his head. “No, _god_ no, Little Cato. I would never.” Little Cato shrank away as Avocato tried moving towards him. “Little Cato, listen to me-”

“No!” Little Cato said shakily, clutching his yellow sweater and breathing heavily. “You stay back!”

Gary started towards them, hoping to diffuse the situation. “Little Cato-”

“I said _stay back!”_ Little Cato launched himself at Avocato, who stumbled back to avoid getting jumped on.

This wasn’t a sparring match anymore. Little Cato was attacking for real, but that didn’t stop Gary from running to Avocato’s side and grabbing his arm. “Drop the gun.”

Avocato pulled Gary out of the way of Little Cato’s next barrage of punches, looking at him uncomprehendingly. “Wha-”

“Drop. The. _Gun.”_

Finally understanding the situation, Avocato set the gun on the ground and kicked it away. “Alright, no gun. See?” He showed his empty hands to Little Cato. “No one is going to hurt you, okay? Everything is fine.”

Little Cato continued to glare at them for a moment. Then his fists unclenched, his expression morphing into confusion. “I… w-wait…”

“Easy, son.” Avocato walked towards him again, slower this time. “You saw a gun, you had a moment, but everything’s okay.”

“Gun,” Little Cato murmured to himself. “You had a… oh. _Oooh,_ I’m an idiot.” He closed the short distance left between himself and Avocato and hugged him. “Sorry about that.”

Avocato patted the top of his head. “Don’t apologize, Little Cato, you have nothing to be sorry for.”

“But I shouldn’t be suspicious of you having it,” Little Cato protested.

“It was a knee-jerk reaction,” Gary said, “You haven’t had a lot of great experiences with guns, kiddo.”

Little Cato sighed. “I guess.” He pulled away from the hug and smiled. “Let’s just finish what we came in here to do. Then maybe we can go up to the bridge and just… hang out?”

“I’m down,” Gary said. “Avocato?”

“Yeah. And I can leave the gun if-”

Little Cato shook his head. “No. Keep your gun on you, always. Never know when you might need it.”

Gary picked up the gun and handed it to Avocato. “Just maybe not while you’re sparring, okay?”

Avocato took the gun and holstered it. “Not while we’re sparring,” he agreed. “Now let’s take inventory and get out of here.”

“Sounds good to me,” Little Cato said. Then he snickered quietly. “I was totally right about you being out of practice, by the way.”

“Don’t make me ground you.”


	40. Chapter 40

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avocato and Quinn not trusting Sheryl give me life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh they absolutely do not trust this lady.

Sheryl had no idea who Avocato and Quinn were, but she was starting to get tired of them following her around.

As far as she could tell, Quinn was Gary’s… _maybe_ girlfriend? They seemed close enough to be something, but it didn’t look like either one of them had decided on a label. As for Avocato, he and Gary seemed closer than Quinn and Gary, and Sheryl couldn’t be sure that they _weren’t_ anything more than friends.

Then again, Quinn and Avocato _also_ seemed to get along well. Maybe they were all something more than friends. She didn’t know, and she didn’t dare ask. Not with Quinn and Avocato staring her down everywhere she went.

The younger Ventrexian had been put in charge of repairs and she had been told to help, since everyone else seemed completely hopeless when it came to the Crimson Light. Gary could do basic repairs, sure, but only ones that had been assigned to him while imprisoned.

Huh… how _did_ Gary manage to get himself in space jail? She’d have to ask.

At the moment, she had more pressing issues, namely the Ventrexian glaring at her while she worked. Not Little Cato, the older one (though Little Cato didn’t seem to like her much anymore either). She glanced up at Avocato, “Can I help ya?”

“No.”

“Okay,” Sheryl said slowly, “Then what’re you doin’ here?”

Avocato scowled. “You think I’m gonna leave you alone with my son, Sheryl Goodspeed?”

“Ah. I see my reputation precedes me.” Being as notorious as she was had its perks. She rarely had to introduce herself to people.

“Of course it does, “ Avocato said, “There isn’t a single person in the galaxy who doesn’t know what you are.”

Little Cato hummed. “Well, except Gary.”

“Gary is an idiot,” Avocato pointed out. “He didn’t know who the Lord Commander was either.”

Sheryl snorted. “Daft one, my son.”

Little Cato scowled up at her. “Don’t talk about my dad that way.”

“Wha- he just called Gary an idiot!”

“He’s allowed to do that. They’re friends.”

Sheryl rolled her eyes and stood. “Alright. You know what? I’m gonna go somewhere that’s not here. Have fun doing repairs, kid.”

She thought she’d find some peace up on the bridge, and she did for a moment, and then Quinn walked in with an expression not unlike the Ventrexian’s.

“Hello Sheryl.”

“Are you here to monitor me as well?” Sheryl asked.

Quinn shrugged. “I might be.”

“Great,” Sheryl muttered, “Now I’ve got _two_ babysitters.”

“Oh, you’ve got a lot more than that,” Quinn said, “You think a single person on this ship trusts you? Avocato and I might be the only ones _actively_ keeping an eye on you at all times, but that’s because we were _trained_ not to trust people.”

Sheryl narrowed her eyes. “Oh that’s _right_ … you _are_ Infinity Guard, aren’t you?”

“I _was_ ,” Quinn corrected, “Turns out they were all a bunch of traitors, so I defected.”

“So tell me,” Sheryl leaned forward curiously, “How did an ex-Infinity Guard and former second-in-command to the Lord Commander end up befriending Gary Goodspeed?”

Quinn paused for a moment. “Because… Gary was the only good guy left. He was obnoxious and loud and _extremely_ irritating, but I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t the kindest person I’ve ever met.”

“Kind?” Sheryl repeated.

“Yes. Kind. A term I’m sure you’re quite unfamiliar with.” Quinn crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “I don’t know what happened between you and Gary but given your _extensive_ criminal history, and from what I’ve heard from the other two kids, you haven’t really done anything to earn _anyone’s_ trust.

“So you’re just gonna have to deal with the babysitting, alright crazy lady? You’re gonna have to deal with me and Avocato on your back,” Quinn gave her a look that was almost challenging. “Until you can prove that you can be trusted. Got it?”

Sheryl sighed. Quinn was right, of course. She was a wanted criminal, among other things. The only who would vouch for her at this point was Gary, and even that was tentative trust at best. “Yeah. I got it.”

“Good,” Quinn said, “Because you didn’t really have a choice.”


	41. Chapter 41

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avocato has abandonment issues after Little Cato was taken from him, so when Gary leaves Avo alone just to do something, Avo has has a panic attack about someone leaving him alone again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tips on befriending a traumatized cat. Don’t leave the traumatized cat alone for long periods of time. Or any period of time, really. Just don’t leave him alone at all.

_‘Gary,_ ’ HUE sounded from above them, _‘There are some repairs outside that require immediate attention._

The prisoner groaned. “Yeah, I got it.” He started for the door. “Friggin’ robot telling me what to do…”

“Where are you going?” Avocato asked. He realized how dumb of a question it was as soon as it left his mouth. HUE literally just said that the repairs were outside the ship.

Gary didn’t seem to notice though, and simply waved it off. “Just gotta do some repairs. I’ll be right back.”

Avocato watched him leave, his fists curling and uncurling at his sides. “He’ll be right back,” he told himself quietly.

He paced and forth across the bridge for what felt like forever. How long did repairs usually take? Did it usually take this long?

What if something had happened to Gary out there?

No, that was ridiculous. HUE wouldn’t anything happen. Gary was fine.

But what if he wasn’t?

His chest tightened and he leaned against a wall to keep himself upright, feeling like the ship was tilting violently to one side. “What the hell…”

Where was Gary? He should have been back by now. Panic creept up Avocato’s throat as he imagined all the ways Gary might have gotten hurt making repairs.

“HUE,” Avocato managed, “I can’t…” _breathe_ , is he what he tried to say, but he couldn’t quite get the word out.

_‘Avocato, you are experiencing a panic attack.’_

“A w-what?” Avocato felt dizzy, and he couldn’t seem to fill his lungs properly. HUE was still talking but it sounded like he was underwater. Everything was too loud and too indistinct and the lights were too bright and _where the hell was Gary?_

“Avocato!” A blur of red entered his field of vision. “You okay? Calm down, buddy, everything’s okay.”

“Gary?” Avocato could just barely make out his friend through his haze of panic. “I… y-you…”

Gary hushed him. “You gotta breathe, man. Can you do that for me? Can you breathe?”

It didn’t seem possible a few seconds ago, but with Gary back Avocato found it easier. His panic slowly died down and he managed to stand without using the wall for support. “Okay, I’m… good. I think.”

“Dude, no.” Gary looked him over, worry written all over his expression. “Are you okay? For real? I was only gone for, like, fifteen minutes.”

Avocato wasn’t sure how to answer that. What was he supposed to do? Tell the guy he had literally _just met_ that he was panicking over his safety? “I was… concerned.”

Gary frowned. “About me?”

“No,” Avocato said. Then after a few moments of tense silence, he admitted, “Okay _maybe_.”

“Avocato, you aren’t going to lose me.” He started to protest, because there was no way Gary could know that for sure, but Gary stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “I mean it. You _are not_ going to lose me. Okay?”

Avocato hesitated. “Okay.”

“Say it back to me.”

“What.”

“Say it back,” Gary repeated.

“I’m not going to lose you?”

Gary shook his head. “It’s not a question, Avocato.”

“I’m not going to lose you.” He wasn’t sure how that helped, exactly, but it did. The last traces of his panic attack were dissipating in Gary’s comforting words.

Gary smiled. “Better. And next time something like this happens, just ask HUE to patch you through to my helmet, alright? It’ll spare you from some unnecessary anxiety.”

Avocato returned the smile. “I’ll remember that.”


	42. Chapter 42

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do you think Avocato’s healing process was like before they saved Gary, you know, after they sort of brought him back from the bomb?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, thanks to Sam-a-rino, our in-show time travelling buddy, I’d say his recovery was pretty fast considering we only saw a few bandages on him after collecting Gary. That’s not to say Avocato didn’t have his fair share of problems when he came to. One particularly big problem came in a very small orange package.

When he woke up, he didn’t know anything. And that was just about _all_ he knew.

He opened his eyes, body aching and sore, and there was just… _people_. Strange people. One of them was enormous, with a gun for an arm. Another looked like she might have had technology implanted in her head, and the girl next to her had flaming pink hair.

The only one among them who didn’t look concerned was the blue one with floppy ears. “Alright, that’s all I can do. You guys gotta take care of him from here. Time-Travel Sammy _out_.”

The flash of light that swallowed the apparent time traveler was also strange, but the strangest thing was the young boy in front of him, looking hopeful and scared.

The older woman looked nervous. He didn’t know who she was either, but she hadn’t addressed him yet. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to know her, but it was heavily implied that he should know the kid, judging by how the child was looking at him… but he didn’t.

He sat up, rubbing his head. “I… I don’t…” He gazed at the child. “I don’t know who you are.”

The older woman in the back frowned. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know who you are.” He squinted at the remaining people in the room. “Actually… I don’t know who _any_ of you are.” He looked at his paws curiously. “I don’t even know who _I_ am.”

The woman glanced to the child, who was staring at him blankly. “You don’t remember me.” It wasn’t a question. “How can you not…” He took a breath. “You know what? I’m gonna go take the controls.” The boy stood and headed to the door. “We gotta go find Gary.”

“Little Cato-” The woman started.

“Keep an eye on him for me, would ya Nightfall?” He gave one last glance back as the door closed behind him.

There was a long uncomfortable silence after that. The alien with a gun for a hand kept glancing at the door anxiously. Maybe he was a friend of Little Cato’s? Whoever he was, it didn’t take him long to follow Little Cato out.

The girl with pink hair had retreated to the corner of the room, glaring at him like he had offended her personally. Avocato looked to the woman helping him wrap up his wounds. “Did I… do something to her?”

Nightfall shook her head. “No. But she’s pretty fond of Little Cato. We all are, really.” She tightened the bandage around his head. “She knows it’s not your fault you can’t remember, but it’s still… frustrating to know that you can’t.”

They didn’t exchange any more words after that.

It wasn’t until later that he saw the kid again. He turned a corner, and there he was, just staring out a window. Avocato didn’t know what else to do except join him. The kid’s ear twitched, acknowledging his presence.

They were both silent for a moment or two. Then Little Cato sighed. “You really can’t remember anything. Can you?”

“No,” Avocato said, “I’m sorry.”

Little Cato narrowed his eyes. “I should’ve figured. Nothing’s ever that easy. It’s not enough we _broke time_ , now we gotta play the _amnesia_ game.”

Avocato hesitated. “You sound upset.”

“Probably because I _am_ upset.” Little Cato chuckled humorlessly. “Not that you’d understand why.”

“Who… am I? To you?”

Little Cato’s face softened into something akin to sadness. “No one important… apparently.” Even though Avocato couldn’t remember anything, he was sure he had never seen a more resigned expression.

No, ‘resigned’ wasn’t the right word for it. ‘Defeated’ maybe? It still didn’t seem right. Clearly the kid was used to bad things happening to him, but… it looked like he was trying awful hard to take it in stride.

Avocato watched him turn his gaze back to the stars outside. “Little Cato, I’m so-”

“It doesn’t matter,” Little Cato interrupted. “What matters is getting Gary back.” His expression darkened. “Assuming he’s still alive…”

“Little Cato-”

“Enjoy the view, huh?” Little Cato walked away from the window. “There’s a big universe out there that you don’t remember.”

The door slid shut behind Little Cato, and Avocato finally found the word he was looking for. The kid wasn’t resigned or defeated–not yet, anyway.

_Tired_. That’s how Little Cato looked. Just… tired. There was an inexplicably deep exhaustion, and somehow _he_ had something to do with it. Knowing that made Avocato wish he could help.

It made him wish he remembered.


	43. Chapter 43

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avocato finally telling his son verbally he loves him and is proud of him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm… feel like Gary might have a few things to say on that, huh?

It had been a really long friggin’ day. Gary wasn’t actually sure what classified as day and night in this place, but the past several hours had _definitely_ been rough. Too many close calls with too many strange things, not to mention the Titan that almost got ahold of the Crimson Light.

Seriously, those things were _way_ scarier when they were up close and trying to grab your ship like a toy.

But, stressful as it was, everyone held it together. The kids, especially, did absolutely fantastic. Between Ash’s thingy-thing, Fox’s gun, and Little Cato general enthusiasm about everything, they were pretty much an unstoppable trio, and Gary was continuously impressed with them. And also kind of afraid in a _‘the kids could take over the ship and literally none of us could stop them but I love them so that’s alright’_ kind of way.

“Great job today, guys!” Gary patted Ash’s head. She smiled a bit through her mess of pink hair, though she did her best to hide it. “At this rate, the Titans will be more afraid of us than we are of them!” He looked up at Fox. “How’s your arm, big guy?”

“Not too bad.” Fox inspected his right arm. “I think my gun took most of the damage. Gonna need to do some repairs.” He nudged Little Cato beside him. “Think you can help me out?”

Little Cato hummed. “I’m not too familiar with bioengineering. Not really sure how everything connects to your arm and all. We could ask HUE though, he could guide me through… whatever process we need to fix you up.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Avocato said as he took off his helmet. “That’s gonna require a steady hand, son.”

Little Cato smiled. “Well, yeah, I know that. I can-”

“As shaky as you were on the turret today?” Avocato asked. “Might wanna ask Quinn to help you, Fox.”

Gary frowned. “Now, hang on-”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Little Cato shrugged. “Could have been a little steadier.” He gestured for Fox to follow him. “Come on! Let’s go get Quinn.”

“I’m coming too!” Ash said excitedly, floating after Fox and Little Cato about two inches off the ground. “I wanna watch Quinn fix his arm!”

Avocato started after them, “And I’ll start weapon inventory. After today, we’re gonna need-” Gary held out an arm to stop him. “Gary?”

He waited until the door closed behind the kids before saying, “Dude, what the hell was _that?”_

“What the hell was what?”

Gary looked at him in disbelief. “That line of total _crap_ you just told Little Cato! What _was_ that?”

“All I said was he could have been steadier on the turret. What’s wrong with that?”

“Because the kids kicked _ass_ today,” Gary said, “ Little Cato helped fight a Titan, and the first thing you do is tear him down like-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Avocato interrupted. “I am _not_ tearing him down.”

Gary crossed his arms. “Okay, so what do _you_ think you were doing?”

Avocato shrugged. “It’s motivation.”

“Motivation to do what, exactly?” Gary asked. “Because telling a kid who shot up a goddamn Titan that his hand wasn’t wasn’t steady enough to help his friend doesn’t sound like motivation to do anything.”

“He wasn’t even sure what to do,” Avocato pointed out.

“And you think Quinn _does?_ She’s an amazing pilot, a whiz at math, and amazing at pretty much anything she does,” Gary said, “But she is not a doctor. Or an engineer!”

Avocato’s tail flicked in agitation. “I already told you-”

“Motivation?” Gary finished. “But you never answered my question, Avocato: Motivation for what?” Gary narrowed his eyes when Avocato huffed in response. What the hell was this? He’d never seen Avocato like this before. Grumpy, yes. Blunt, sure. But this was ridiculous. “I’m serious, Avocato. Tell me what you’re trying to motivate him to do.”

“I want to motivate him to do better!’ Avocato exclaimed.

“By telling him he’s doing bad?” Gary shot back, trying not to yell in retaliation. “He’s the most experienced engineer on the ship. And just told him that someone else, who is _not_ an engineer, would do a better job than him at fixing a _mechanical arm!”_

Avocato crossed his arms. “What should I have said then?”

Gary rubbed his face. “Oh my _god_ , Avocato.”

“What?!”

“He’s your son!” Gary said. “Can’t you think of a _single_ positive thing to say to him? Does his _life_ have to be in danger before you start being nice?”

Avocato recoiled, looking horrified. “Of course not!”

“Then how come the only time I’ve ever heard you say anything positive is when we were saving him from the Lord Commander?”

“That is _not_ true!”

“So when was the last time you told Little Cato you were proud of him?!”

“That’s ridiculous, Gary, I-!” Avocato blinked. “It… hold on…”

Gary could see Avocato’s distress, but he was too angry to slow down. “You ever tell Little Cato you love him?” Avocato opened his mouth to answer, but Gary cut him off. “It’s a rhetorical question, Avocato! I already know the answer, because Little Cato already told me you haven’t!”

“Wait-”

“The kid friggin’ _adores_ you, Avocato. Despite all the shitty things you did to him, he looks up to you and admires you above anything else!” Gary jabbed Avocato in the chest. “Little Cato went to _war_ for you. Not for the Earth, not for me, for _you!_ He tried taking on the Lord Commander– _alone_ , might I add–for you. He was willing to be stuck in the past just so we could bring you back! And he would have done it too if I hadn’t taken his place!”

“I…”

“Everything Little Cato has ever done, he did it for you, and you can’t even tell the kid you love him?!”

The sound of the door opening made both of them turn. Little Cato smiled as he walked in. “Hey Dads! Quinn is helping Fox with his arm, but they’re having a bit of trouble.”

Gary’s forced his hands to unclench. He probably went overboard yelling at Avocato, and he didn’t want Little Cato to know they had been arguing.

Little Cato continued, apparently unaware of the tension in the room. “But I remembered that you helped Gary attach his metal arm and thought- well, it’s not _exactly_ the same because Fox has a mechanical life support system, but you still might be able to help Quinn.”

Avocato pushed past Gary. “Avocato,” Gary warned, hoping that whatever came out of his friend’s mouth wasn’t something destructive.

“Dad?” Little Cato frowned. “Are you- whoa! Okay!” Avocato wrapped his arms around Little Cato tightly, and the teen didn’t seem sure what to do about it. He looked to Gary for an explanation, but Gary knew this was between Avocato and Little Cato.

It wasn’t really his place to say anything right now. He’d already said his piece.

Receiving no answer from Gary, Little Cato glanced up at Avocato. “Uh… Dad? You okay?”

“I’m sorry, son.”

Little Cato’s brow furrowed. “For what?” He pulled away from the hug and looked Avocato up and down. “Seriously, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Avocato replied, “I just… what I said earlier-”

“That? Dad, don’t worry about it. It’s fine.” Little Cato shrugged. “It’s just how you are. I get it.”

Avocato shook his head. “No, it’s not fine.” He knelt so that he was eye-to eye with Little Cato. “You are the _greatest_ kid I know, and I’m not saying that because I’m biased either.”

Little Cato laughed. “Dad, come on-”

“I’m serious,” Avocato said, “You are the best thing that ever happened to me, and I don’t tell you that enough.”

Gary leaned against the wall, his anger dissolving as he watched the conversation play out.

Avocato put a hand on Little Cato’s shoulder. “Son, I know I’m not the best father. I’m pretty damn far from it. But please know that I mean it when I say I love you, Little Cato. I love you so much.”

Little Cato looked confused. “Huh?” Gary felt another twinge of annoyance. The concept of Avocato saying _I love you_ shouldn’t be so foreign. But he knew Avocato was making an effort, so he said nothing.

“I said ‘I love you’, Little Cato,” Avocato repeated. “I know I don’t say it enough–or ever. But I should. And I’m going to.”

After a few seconds of silence, Little Cato said, “I know you love me, Dad… but I gotta be honest, it _is_ kinda nice to hear you say it out loud.”

“I’m sorry for not saying it sooner,” Avocato apologized. “Now…” He stood and offered a smile. “Should we go see what we can do about Fox’s arm?”

“Oh! Yeah, probably. Quinn’s been struggling a bit since she’s never really done anything like this before but…”

Little Cato continued talking as Avocato glanced back at Gary. Raising an eyebrow, Gary asked, quiet enough that Little Cato didn’t hear. “Was that so hard?”

Avocato chuckled and followed after his son. Gary sighed when the door closed. He really hadn’t meant to yell at Avocato, but damnit if Little Cato didn’t need to hear those words. Maybe he’d apologize to Avocato a little later for his harsh words, but for now, he’d just let the Ventrexians enjoy each other’s company for a while.


End file.
